Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Invests $2.42 Million in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 49,800 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,423,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned about 0.10% of Cheesecake Factory as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,443,458 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $258,238,000 after buying an additional 21,096 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,412,483 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,008,000 after buying an additional 155,614 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,363,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $64,663,000 after buying an additional 186,026 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth about $56,288,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,062,000 after buying an additional 673,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of CAKE stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.25. 1,740,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,236,029. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1 year low of $33.50 and a 1 year high of $62.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.06% and a net margin of 4.33%. The firm had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 20,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total value of $1,105,816.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,331.04. This represents a 45.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on CAKE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.63.

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.