Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) vs. Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Head-To-Head Analysis

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI – Get Free Report) and Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.4% of Monarch Casino & Resort shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.5% of Cheesecake Factory shares are held by institutional investors. 26.3% of Monarch Casino & Resort shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Cheesecake Factory shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Monarch Casino & Resort and Cheesecake Factory’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Monarch Casino & Resort and Cheesecake Factory”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Cheesecake Factory has higher revenue and earnings than Monarch Casino & Resort. Monarch Casino & Resort is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cheesecake Factory, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Monarch Casino & Resort and Cheesecake Factory, as reported by MarketBeat.

Monarch Casino & Resort currently has a consensus target price of $124.40, indicating a potential upside of 5.66%. Cheesecake Factory has a consensus target price of $85.47, indicating a potential downside of 18.21%. Given Monarch Casino & Resort’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Monarch Casino & Resort is more favorable than Cheesecake Factory.

Volatility & Risk

Monarch Casino & Resort has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cheesecake Factory has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Monarch Casino & Resort pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cheesecake Factory pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Monarch Casino & Resort pays out 19.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cheesecake Factory pays out 32.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Monarch Casino & Resort beats Cheesecake Factory on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

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Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

About Cheesecake Factory

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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. It operates restaurants under the brands comprising The Cheesecake Factory, North Italia, Flower Child, Fox Restaurant Concepts. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Calabasas, California.