Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $42.63 and traded as high as $49.36. Cheesecake Factory shares last traded at $47.99, with a volume of 1,375,684 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.81 and a 200-day moving average of $42.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.50.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The company had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.06%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,110 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 8.2% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 7.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,090 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. 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.