Citigroup Raises Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target to $51.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $46.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CAKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $40.42.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 4.9 %

NASDAQ CAKE opened at $40.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.49. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $28.67 and a 12 month high of $42.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in 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 stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter worth $121,000. 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.