Wedbush Equities Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) – Research analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report released on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.51 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.55. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Cheesecake Factory’s current full-year earnings is $3.21 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Cheesecake Factory’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.89 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.22 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.92 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.57 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.06 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on CAKE. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report 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 report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.25.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

NASDAQ CAKE opened at $35.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.43. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $28.58 and a 52-week high of $41.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.51.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $904.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.19 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 49.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $151,778.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,125,687.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. IPG Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 151,695 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 77,575 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $914,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $727,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth about $2,532,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $844,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.