Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on CAKE. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $48.10 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.30. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $30.96 and a 1 year high of $50.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 41.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at $121,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter worth $202,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.