Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $59.14 and last traded at $58.84, with a volume of 1334129 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAKE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,402,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This trade represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 114,200 shares of company stock valued at $6,351,176. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 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.