UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Initiates The Cheesecake Factory at Hold on Valuation

In a report published Tuesday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Robert Derrington initiated coverage on The Cheesecake Factory CAKE with a Hold rating and $46.00 price target.

In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “We are initiating coverage of The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. (CAKE) with a Hold rating and a $46.00 price target. Cheesecake remains one of the casual dining industry's highest performing concepts with its above-average unit sales and strong potential growth prospects. While our investment bias favors more differentiated business models like CAKE's, we remain cautious with our initial investment rating given industry challenges of volatile consumer spending juxtaposed with CAKE's relatively elevated valuation, recently trading at 19.5x forward 12-month (FTM) EPS versus its 5-year average of 16.4x.”

The Cheesecake Factory closed on Monday at $42.78.