Shares of Cheesecake Factory Inc. fell 5 percent on Wednesday after an analyst downgraded shares, saying the upscale casual restaurant operator hasn’t been aggressive enough in offering promotions to lure in customers during a slow economy.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Christopher O’Cull downgraded shares of the Calabasas Hills chain from “buy” to “neutral,” and reduced his 2008 earnings-per-share estimate from $1.02 to 98 cents and his 2009 estimate from $1.05 to 98 cents.

“We believe weak casual dining sales during back-to-school portends a challenging holiday season, which has probably scared certain large casual dining chains into planning more aggressively priced promotions,” O’Cull said in a note to clients. “Unfortunately, we do not believe (the company) is prepared to counteract aggressive marketing from competitors, and will likely experience decelerating guest counts through the balance of 2008.”

The company in July reported second-quarter net income had dropped 19 percent from a year before, and attributed a 9 percent increase in revenue to business at new locations. Sales at restaurants open at least a year were down 4 percent.

Cheesecake Factory shares closed down 76 cents to $15.13 in Wednesday trading on the Nasdaq.