Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Citigroup

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective reduced by Citigroup from $128.00 to $127.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CAKE. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $101.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.47.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of CAKE opened at $112.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.04. Cheesecake Factory has a 52 week low of $43.07 and a 52 week high of $118.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.95% and a net margin of 5.20%. Cheesecake Factory’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.70 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scarlett May sold 2,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total transaction of $335,398.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,746,264.24. This represents a 16.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.71, for a total value of $48,326.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,428 shares in the company, valued at $389,797.88. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 158,372 shares of company stock valued at $17,152,291 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,242,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,008,000 after buying an additional 29,037 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth $38,020,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth $35,793,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter worth $13,792,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth $13,743,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Cheesecake Factory News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheesecake Factory this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter results showed solid momentum: total revenue exceeded $1.033 billion, and flagship restaurant guest traffic rose 9.5%. The company also surpassed consensus estimates for both revenue and earnings, suggesting continued customer demand. Cheesecake Factory: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded CAKE from “hold” to “strong-buy,” providing a bullish counterpoint to the day’s more cautious research. Freedom Capital analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced an opening date for a new location at West County Mall, indicating continued unit expansion, although the financial impact is likely limited in the near term. Cheesecake Factory sets opening date
• Neutral Sentiment: Barack Obama’s repeated Cheesecake Factory references have generated substantial media attention and may increase brand visibility, but the political dispute does not appear to change the company’s earnings outlook or operations. Seth Meyers praises Obama
• Neutral Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating, signaling that the firm sees limited near-term outperformance despite CAKE’s strong operating results. Stephens reaffirms Equal Weight rating
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded CAKE from “strong-buy” to “hold.” The stock also crossed below its 50-day moving average following the downgrade, reinforcing near-term technical and valuation concerns. Cheesecake Factory stock crosses below 50-day moving average

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is a restaurant company best known for The Cheesecake Factory, a full-service casual dining brand offering an extensive menu of American and international-inspired dishes, along with a broad selection of cheesecakes and other desserts. The company also operates North Italia, an Italian restaurant concept, and owns Fox Restaurant Concepts, which develops and operates additional restaurant brands, including Flower Child and Culinary Dropout.

The company was founded by David Overton, who opened the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978 after his parents began a cheesecake business.