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

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $69.82 and last traded at $70.0120, with a volume of 36902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAKE has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group set a $53.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $72.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.57 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total value of $161,601.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $400,497.90. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% in the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 94.48% of the stock is 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.