Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Sells 5,206 Shares

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.95, for a total value of $327,717.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,618,759.25. The trade was a 16.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of CAKE traded down $1.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $60.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,247,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,854. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $42.69 and a 12-month high of $69.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.16.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.68% and a net margin of 3.96%.The firm had revenue of $961.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $949.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAKE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial lowered Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.81.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.