Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given New $35.00 Price Target at Barclays

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $32.00 to $35.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CAKE. Citigroup raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Raymond James raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $34.24. 1,587,565 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 955,714. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.53. Cheesecake Factory has a 1-year low of $28.58 and a 1-year high of $41.25.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $904.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.19 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 49.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $151,778.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,125,687.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. 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.