Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $108.42 and last traded at $107.8620, with a volume of 60798 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAKE. Mizuho raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.58.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.54 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 4.61%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, EVP Scarlett May sold 7,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.66, for a total transaction of $819,021.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,621.06. This trade represents a 30.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 68,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.30, for a total transaction of $6,841,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,479,323.70. The trade was a 60.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 179,331 shares of company stock worth $18,413,065. 8.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. NFSG Corp lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.