Wedbush Increases Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target to $59.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Wedbush from $52.00 to $59.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ CAKE traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $48.77. 438,950 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 970,560. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.24. 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 12-month low of $30.96 and a 12-month high of $50.75.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at $747,052.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% in the first 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 raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter valued at $121,000. Finally, Wealth Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Institutional investors 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.