The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stake Lifted by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 108.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $273,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $50.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1 year low of $31.24 and a 1 year high of $52.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.26.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.06%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer raised Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.40.

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.