Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 299,520 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,895 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $16,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 6.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,704,314 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $106,792,000 after acquiring an additional 99,688 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.9% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 452,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,382,000 after purchasing an additional 21,223 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 348,506 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,837,000 after purchasing an additional 60,078 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 220,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,806,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 155,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,734,000 after buying an additional 6,391 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $57.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.82.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $63.49 on Tuesday. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52 week low of $42.69 and a 52 week high of $69.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.69 and a 200-day moving average of $55.18.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.