Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sees Strong Trading Volume - What's Next?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,614,730 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 76% from the previous session's volume of 1,481,856 shares.The stock last traded at $54.41 and had previously closed at $54.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Raymond James upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.19.

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Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 3.0 %

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 stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.24.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. Equities research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is 33.75%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total transaction of $5,308,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 3,092,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. This represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.