Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $53.21 and last traded at $53.34, with a volume of 136071 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAKE shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Wedbush raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stephens raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.57.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter worth $223,000. 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.