Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Scarlett May Sells 2,939 Shares of Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Scarlett May sold 2,939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total transaction of $335,398.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,264.24. The trade was a 16.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CAKE stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $112.64. 1,627,394 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,505,850. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.04. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $43.07 and a 12-month high of $118.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $108.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.68. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.95% and a net margin of 5.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter worth $1,464,000. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter worth about $224,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 60.3% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 63.3% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 4,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,173 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $101.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.47.

Key Headlines Impacting Cheesecake Factory

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.