Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Trading Up 7% Following Earnings Beat

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s stock price was up 7% on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $67.45 and last traded at $67.59. Approximately 600,175 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 1,437,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.18.

The restaurant operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.10. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.15%. The business had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $945.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CAKE shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,402,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,168. This trade represents a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,145,062.88. This trade represents a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 4.9% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 452,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,382,000 after acquiring an additional 21,223 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 32.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 144,353 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,195,000 after acquiring an additional 35,058 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth approximately $246,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 392,466.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,777 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 11,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth approximately $637,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

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.