Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Raised to $36.00 at UBS Group

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sell rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CAKE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $42.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.49. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $29.27 and a fifty-two week high of $43.51.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $904.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 49.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 31.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 942,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,038,000 after buying an additional 223,497 shares during the period. JCP Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,149,000. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.8% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,831,381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,245,000 after purchasing an additional 76,578 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.0% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 819,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,191,000 after purchasing an additional 60,545 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 103.1% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 112,088 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,404,000 after purchasing an additional 56,889 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.