The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Announces $0.27 Quarterly Dividend

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 31st, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the restaurant operator on Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th.

Cheesecake Factory has increased its dividend by an average of 44.2% annually over the last three years. Cheesecake Factory has a payout ratio of 30.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Cheesecake Factory to earn $3.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.9%.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of CAKE traded down $1.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 470,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,263. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.51. Cheesecake Factory has a 1-year low of $28.58 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $38.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.45.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $904.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.19 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.30% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 28,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,125,687.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Raymond James raised Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.25.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.