New Century Financial Group LLC Invests $1.14 Million in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,071 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 3.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,272 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $48,772,000 after acquiring an additional 43,128 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 103,152 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,053,000 after purchasing an additional 7,408 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,480,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 103.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 112,088 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,404,000 after buying an additional 56,889 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.47. The stock had a trading volume of 827,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,353,298. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a twelve month low of $33.05 and a twelve month high of $52.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.11.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 14,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This represents a 46.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAKE has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Oppenheimer upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.40.

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.