Key Points
- EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares on March 10 at an average price of $62.95 for proceeds of $327,717.70, cutting her stake by 16.84% to 25,715 shares per an SEC Form 4 filing.
- Cheesecake Factory raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 (annualized $1.20, ~2.0% yield; payable March 17), and recently beat Q results with $1.00 EPS on $961.6M revenue, up 4.4% year-over-year.
- Stock trades below recent highs amid mixed analyst views: CAKE was about $58.83 mid-day with a ~$2.93B market cap, P/E ~19.1, and an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $61.81 target.
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.95, for a total value of $327,717.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,618,759.25. The trade was a 16.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance
CAKE stock traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $58.83. The company had a trading volume of 147,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,415. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a one year low of $42.69 and a one year high of $69.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $60.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.16.
Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 45.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.
Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost 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 presently 39.09%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% in 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 period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.6% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,918 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms recently commented on CAKE. Stephens cut Cheesecake Factory from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Cheesecake Factory from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.81.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Cheesecake Factory
About Cheesecake Factory
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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