Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $108.42 and last traded at $107.8620, with a volume of 60798 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAKE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $91.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.83.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.54 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 43.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, EVP Scarlett May sold 7,978 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.66, for a total transaction of $819,021.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,621.06. This represents a 30.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.27, for a total value of $10,004,789.15. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,543,577.35. This represents a 51.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 179,331 shares of company stock valued at $18,413,065. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,922,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at about $57,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at about $38,020,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at about $223,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.