Driehaus Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC has acquired 980,682 shares of The Cheesecake Factory, valued at approximately $47.7 million, representing an ownership stake of about 1.98%.
• Insider transactions revealed significant stock sales, with Director Alexander L. Cappello and President David M. Gordon reducing their holdings by over 63%, indicating potential concerns about the stock’s near-term outlook.
• Wall Street analysts have varied price targets for Cheesecake Factory, with an average target price of $61.94 and a consensus rating of "Hold," reflecting mixed views on the stock's future performance.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 980,682 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $47,720,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 1.98% of Cheesecake Factory as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,121 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,677 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,049 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.84. The stock had a trading volume of 232,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,602. The firm's 50 day moving average is $63.14 and its 200 day moving average is $55.74. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a one year low of $35.40 and a one year high of $69.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.10. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The business had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 33.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 12,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.88, for a total transaction of $816,121.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at $448,379.28. This represents a 64.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total transaction of $2,732,705.10. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 24,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,546,987.92. This trade represents a 63.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,523 shares of company stock valued at $4,654,643 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAKE shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.94.

Cheesecake Factory 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.