Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.19.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CAKE opened at $54.97 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.31. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $33.05 and a twelve month high of $57.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The company had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.67 million. On average, research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. 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.