Oppenheimer Upgrades Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) to Outperform

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $65.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 29.33% from the stock’s current price.

CAKE has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ CAKE opened at $50.26 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.19. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $31.24 and a 12-month high of $52.10. 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 cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 1.37 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The business had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This trade represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.