Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CAKE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.17.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

CAKE stock opened at $47.30 on Monday. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $50.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.87.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.66% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.