JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target to $40.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $34.00 to $40.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CAKE. Wedbush boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $39.58.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $38.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.48. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $28.58 and a 52-week high of $41.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.80.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 42.15%. The business had revenue of $891.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $890.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.54%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $151,778.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,125,687.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 1492 Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 32,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 107,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.