Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.26 EPS

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26, FiscalAI reports. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 2.3%

CAKE stock traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,541,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,328,067. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $43.07 and a twelve month high of $89.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at $187,928,114.58. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,497.90. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3,343.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 211.5% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.