Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 255,595 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 22,416 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $10,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,110 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This trade represents a 46.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $48.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.47. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.96 and a 52-week high of $50.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.47.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 41.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Company 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.