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

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target decreased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 1.77% from the company’s current price.

CAKE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.81.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.86. 346,942 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,131,355. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.53 and a 200 day moving average of $47.02. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $33.05 and a fifty-two week high of $57.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.67 million. On average, analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 8.2% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter worth about $395,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter worth about $973,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.9% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter worth about $723,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.