Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Insider Sells $193,703.64 in Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) insider Ashley Hanscom sold 2,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total transaction of $193,703.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,731.24. This trade represents a 21.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $65.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,042,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,335. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.02. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a twelve month low of $42.69 and a twelve month high of $69.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.13.

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

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAKE. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $75.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Six equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.81.

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.