Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 2,614,730 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 76% from the previous session’s volume of 1,481,856 shares.The stock last traded at $54.41 and had previously closed at $54.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAKE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.19.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 1.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.31 and a 200-day moving average of $45.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44.

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

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 320 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 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.