The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 626,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 19,900 shares during the period. Cheesecake Factory accounts for about 2.4% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $65,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,242,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,008,000 after acquiring an additional 29,037 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,020,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,793,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,743,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,792,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE stock opened at $112.64 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $108.02 and its 200 day moving average is $79.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12 month low of $43.07 and a 12 month high of $118.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.06. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 46.95%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is presently 28.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Director Edie A. Ames sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.95, for a total transaction of $320,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,500. The trade was a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Clark sold 23,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.31, for a total transaction of $2,700,403.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,111,300.79. This trade represents a 34.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 158,313 shares of company stock worth $17,146,143 in the last three months. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAKE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $116.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.47.

More Cheesecake Factory News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheesecake Factory this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter results showed solid momentum: total revenue exceeded $1.033 billion, and flagship restaurant guest traffic rose 9.5%. The company also surpassed consensus estimates for both revenue and earnings, suggesting continued customer demand. Cheesecake Factory: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded CAKE from “hold” to “strong-buy,” providing a bullish counterpoint to the day’s more cautious research. Freedom Capital analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced an opening date for a new location at West County Mall, indicating continued unit expansion, although the financial impact is likely limited in the near term. Cheesecake Factory sets opening date
• Neutral Sentiment: Barack Obama’s repeated Cheesecake Factory references have generated substantial media attention and may increase brand visibility, but the political dispute does not appear to change the company’s earnings outlook or operations. Seth Meyers praises Obama
• Neutral Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating, signaling that the firm sees limited near-term outperformance despite CAKE’s strong operating results. Stephens reaffirms Equal Weight rating
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded CAKE from “strong-buy” to “hold.” The stock also crossed below its 50-day moving average following the downgrade, reinforcing near-term technical and valuation concerns. Cheesecake Factory stock crosses below 50-day moving average

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is a restaurant company best known for The Cheesecake Factory, a full-service casual dining brand offering an extensive menu of American and international-inspired dishes, along with a broad selection of cheesecakes and other desserts. The company also operates North Italia, an Italian restaurant concept, and owns Fox Restaurant Concepts, which develops and operates additional restaurant brands, including Flower Child and Culinary Dropout.

The company was founded by David Overton, who opened the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978 after his parents began a cheesecake business.