The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is Gagnon Securities LLC's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Gagnon Securities LLC increased its stake in The Cheesecake Factory by 18.0%, acquiring an additional 39,171 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 257,328 shares valued at $12.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Victory Capital Management Inc. and Westwood Holdings Group Inc., have significantly increased their holdings in Cheesecake Factory, contributing to the firm’s strong institutional ownership at 94.48%.
• The Cheesecake Factory announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27, which will be paid on August 26th, representing an annualized yield of 1.7% amid positive earnings reports showing $1.16 EPS for the last quarter.

Gagnon Securities LLC increased its stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,328 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 39,171 shares during the quarter. Cheesecake Factory comprises approximately 2.8% of Gagnon Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Gagnon Securities LLC owned approximately 0.52% of Cheesecake Factory worth $12,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 274,877 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $13,376,000 after acquiring an additional 6,047 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter worth about $5,559,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth about $299,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,513,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,412,483 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,008,000 after purchasing an additional 155,614 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE traded down $0.39 on Monday, hitting $61.15. The company had a trading volume of 324,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,472,438. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52-week low of $35.12 and a 52-week high of $69.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.78 and a 200 day moving average of $54.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $955.83 million for 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%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,402,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 145,388 shares of company stock valued at $8,273,113 over the last quarter. 8.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.