Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.10 and last traded at $50.43, with a volume of 1052408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAKE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.62.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.52.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.06%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at $747,052.76. This trade represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter worth $67,000. Wealth Alliance bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter worth $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates and licenses restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates bakeries that produce cheesecakes and other baked products for its restaurants, international licensees, third-party bakery customers, external foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors.