Gagnon Securities LLC Buys 39,171 Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

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 raised its stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 about 2.8% of Gagnon Securities LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Gagnon Securities LLC owned about 0.52% of Cheesecake Factory worth $12,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 64.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,766,131 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $85,940,000 after buying an additional 689,784 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at about $75,795,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,412,483 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,008,000 after buying an additional 155,614 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,288,000. Finally, JCP Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 181.3% in the fourth quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC now owns 667,210 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $31,652,000 after buying an additional 430,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CAKE shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This represents a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total value of $1,165,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,281,289.44. The trade was a 47.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 145,388 shares of company stock valued at $8,273,113. 8.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $61.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52-week low of $34.53 and a 52-week high of $69.70.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.10. The firm 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 33.23%.

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.

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