Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Alexander Cappello Sells 2,490 Shares

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Alexander Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,497.90. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

CAKE stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.84. The company had a trading volume of 921,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,626. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $43.07 and a 12-month high of $69.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.24.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $978.83 million for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% in 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 during the period. NFSG Corp raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% in the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CAKE shares. UBS Group set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Argus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.94.

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.