Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $54.73 and traded as high as $55.66. Cheesecake Factory shares last traded at $55.30, with a volume of 1,124,905 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAKE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.73.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 45.68%. The company had revenue of $961.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $949.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.09%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $40,474.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,339.54. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Spero G. Alex sold 4,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.00, for a total transaction of $316,140.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,582 shares of company stock worth $1,337,936. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3,343.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.