Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.41 and last traded at $52.44, with a volume of 154260 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAKE. Oppenheimer raised Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This trade represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.