Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Barclays from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 7.90% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wedbush upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $54.29 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $33.05 and a one year high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth $63,114,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth $56,288,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,062,000 after acquiring an additional 673,076 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,827,000. Finally, JCP Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 181.3% in the fourth quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC now owns 667,210 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,652,000 after purchasing an additional 430,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.