Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory, buying 4,340 shares valued at approximately $211,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Insider selling activities included Director Alexander L. Cappello selling 12,388 shares and CFO Matthew Eliot Clark selling 42,900 shares, reflecting significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• Analysts have recently issued varied ratings and updated price targets for Cheesecake Factory, with the stock having a consensus price target of $61.75 and mixed recommendations from multiple investment firms.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAKE. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 1.7%

Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $62.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,434,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,238. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $61.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $35.12 and a 12-month high of $69.70.

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

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.23%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This represents a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total transaction of $1,165,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 145,388 shares of company stock valued at $8,273,113. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.