Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 254,128 Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,156 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 254,128 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $14,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 28.2% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,146 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. NFSG Corp boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,130,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $109.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $43.07 and a 12-month high of $118.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.73.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 44.53%. 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 company earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 2,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was 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 owned 15,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,746,264.24. This represents a 16.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.71, for a total value of $48,326.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,797.88. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 29,154 shares of company stock valued at $3,298,256 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAKE. Freedom Capital upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.47.

Key Headlines Impacting Cheesecake Factory

These are some of the CAKE headlines that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: A new Cheesecake Factory location opened at West County Mall, adding a local expansion update, though the report did not detail its expected financial impact. New location report
• Neutral Sentiment: The Cheesecake Factory Bakery president announced his retirement after 30 years. The announcement provides no details on a successor or expected business impact. Bakery president retirement announcement
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks analysis asks whether the company can sustain its reported 15.2% comparable-sales growth into 2027. Strong traffic and rewards momentum are positives, but tougher comparisons and the ability to generate repeat visits could make growth harder to maintain. Zacks comparable-sales analysis

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ: CAKE) is a restaurant company that operates and licenses restaurants under several brands. Its portfolio includes The Cheesecake Factory, North Italia and restaurants developed by Fox Restaurant Concepts, such as Flower Child and Culinary Dropout. The company’s restaurants serve a range of dishes, including appetizers, entrees and desserts. Its bakery division produces cheesecakes and other baked goods for its restaurants and for foodservice and retail customers.