South Dakota Investment Council Acquires Shares of 24,100 The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 24,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,838,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 411,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,454,000 after purchasing an additional 131,295 shares in the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,246,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $2,335,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 317,683 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,626,000 after purchasing an additional 60,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CAKE stock opened at $34.88 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.70. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $28.58 and a 12-month high of $38.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.48.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 41.66% and a net margin of 2.95%. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.64.

Cheesecake Factory 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.