Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $80.93 and last traded at $80.3260, with a volume of 258305 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup cut Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Stephens lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 0.9%

The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.57 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,928,114.58. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total value of $161,601.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $400,497.90. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 1,059.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 618,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,771,000 after purchasing an additional 564,744 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,057,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,401,000 after buying an additional 407,223 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 214.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 512,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,850,000 after buying an additional 349,168 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1,583.7% in the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 287,219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,499,000 after buying an additional 270,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 54.0% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 747,046 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,819,000 after acquiring an additional 262,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.