Crestline Management LP Invests $524,000 in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,042 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth about $63,114,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,288,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,062,000 after buying an additional 673,076 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 322.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 382,383 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $18,140,000 after buying an additional 291,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,401,000. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.60.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.01. The company had a trading volume of 594,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,198,679. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.11. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $33.50 and a 12-month high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total transaction of $5,308,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $1,553,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,687.36. The trade was a 42.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates and licenses restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates bakeries that produce cheesecakes and other baked products for its restaurants, international licensees, third-party bakery customers, external foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors.