Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $43.81 and last traded at $43.34, with a volume of 175791 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.25.

The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 3.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAKE. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth $121,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 8.8 %

The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.36.

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.