Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $55.88 and traded as high as $57.68. Cheesecake Factory shares last traded at $56.99, with a volume of 1,196,463 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $57.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.35.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.88.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $907.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.95 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.35%. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 1,059.3% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 618,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,771,000 after buying an additional 564,744 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 24.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,057,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,401,000 after acquiring an additional 407,223 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 54.0% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 747,046 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,819,000 after acquiring an additional 262,081 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,455,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth approximately $8,050,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.