Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAKE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer raised Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.48 and a 200-day moving average of $43.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 11.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 11.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.5% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 77,660 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.