Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Cut to Hold at Mizuho

Mizuho lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) from an outperform rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $85.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CAKE. Northcoast Research cut Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.81.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $84.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.00 and its 200-day moving average is $64.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $43.07 and a 1 year high of $87.90.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The business had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total value of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $161,601.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,497.90. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 30.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 92,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after buying an additional 21,887 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,343,000 after buying an additional 8,592 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 32.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 112,020 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 5,326 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.