Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Cut to $48.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $48.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.81.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

CAKE stock opened at $48.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.50 and a 200-day moving average of $47.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $33.05 and a 12 month high of $57.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 33.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,092,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,131,162.76. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the period. 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.