Insider Selling: Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) CFO Sells 23,832 Shares of Company Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) CFO Matthew Clark sold 23,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.31, for a total value of $2,700,403.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,111,300.79. This represents a 34.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of CAKE stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,627,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,505,850. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $108.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.68. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52-week low of $43.07 and a 52-week high of $118.63.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 46.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. NFSG Corp raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at about $57,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAKE. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday. Argus boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $101.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.47.

Cheesecake Factory News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheesecake Factory this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter results showed solid momentum: total revenue exceeded $1.033 billion, and flagship restaurant guest traffic rose 9.5%. The company also surpassed consensus estimates for both revenue and earnings, suggesting continued customer demand. Cheesecake Factory: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded CAKE from “hold” to “strong-buy,” providing a bullish counterpoint to the day’s more cautious research. Freedom Capital analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced an opening date for a new location at West County Mall, indicating continued unit expansion, although the financial impact is likely limited in the near term. Cheesecake Factory sets opening date
• Neutral Sentiment: Barack Obama’s repeated Cheesecake Factory references have generated substantial media attention and may increase brand visibility, but the political dispute does not appear to change the company’s earnings outlook or operations. Seth Meyers praises Obama
• Neutral Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating, signaling that the firm sees limited near-term outperformance despite CAKE’s strong operating results. Stephens reaffirms Equal Weight rating
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded CAKE from “strong-buy” to “hold.” The stock also crossed below its 50-day moving average following the downgrade, reinforcing near-term technical and valuation concerns. Cheesecake Factory stock crosses below 50-day moving average

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is a restaurant company best known for The Cheesecake Factory, a full-service casual dining brand offering an extensive menu of American and international-inspired dishes, along with a broad selection of cheesecakes and other desserts. The company also operates North Italia, an Italian restaurant concept, and owns Fox Restaurant Concepts, which develops and operates additional restaurant brands, including Flower Child and Culinary Dropout.

The company was founded by David Overton, who opened the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978 after his parents began a cheesecake business.