Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Stephens

Stephens cut shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $65.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CAKE has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

CAKE opened at $63.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $42.69 and a 12-month high of $69.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 47.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 39.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,059.3% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 618,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,771,000 after acquiring an additional 564,744 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,057,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $112,401,000 after purchasing an additional 407,223 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 214.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 512,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,850,000 after purchasing an additional 349,168 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,583.7% in the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 287,219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,499,000 after buying an additional 270,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 54.0% during the 3rd 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 period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Cheesecake Factory News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheesecake Factory this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — EPS $1.00 vs $0.98 est and revenue $961.6M vs $949.0M; revenue grew 4.4% year-over-year, driven by unit openings. Earnings Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Company boosted its quarterly dividend (11.1% increase) and expanded its share repurchase authorization — a direct capital-return boost that supports shareholder value. Dividend & Buyback Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated growth plans — signaling up to 26 new units in 2026 and highlighting strong performance from the Flower Child concept, which helps offset softness at the namesake brand. Expansion & Brand Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Company issued FY‑2026 revenue guidance near ~$3.9B and Q1 revenue guidance of $955M–$970M, roughly in line with Street expectations — guidance is not aggressive but provides clarity. Earnings Highlights / Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary mixed but supportive in places — William Blair kept a Buy rating citing resilient fundamentals even as others call for caution on valuation. Analyst Views
• Negative Sentiment: Comparable-sales weakness at the Cheesecake Factory brand (about -2.2%) and narrower operating margins (noted compression in the quarter) prompted an initial stock pullback and raise near‑term profit concerns. Comparable Sales / Volatility
• Negative Sentiment: Some shops trimmed expectations or moved to neutral/equal‑weight (e.g., Stephens downgrade; Wells Fargo maintained a cautious view), reflecting concerns about premium valuation versus mixed traffic trends. Analyst Downgrades / Holds

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.