AlphaQuest LLC Takes $328,000 Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has acquired a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory, purchasing 6,750 shares valued at approximately $328,000 in Q1.
• Several analysts have modified their price targets for Cheesecake Factory, with estimates now ranging from $50.00 to $67.00, reflecting a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings.
• Cheesecake Factory reported an earnings per share of $1.16 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,750 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Mariner LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 323.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 90,982 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,316,000 after acquiring an additional 69,515 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,436 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,041 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,774 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total value of $1,105,816.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,331.04. The trade was a 45.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 12,388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.88, for a total transaction of $816,121.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at $448,379.28. This represents a 64.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,523 shares of company stock valued at $4,654,643. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,012,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,161. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $35.40 and a 12-month high of $69.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.82 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 4.33%.Cheesecake Factory's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is presently 33.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Argus set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.94.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.