Hennessy Advisors Inc. Takes $63.11 Million Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position 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 (SEC). The firm purchased 1,330,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $63,114,000. Cheesecake Factory makes up approximately 1.9% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 2.61% of Cheesecake Factory at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,110 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.2% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 7.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,090 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.76. 968,392 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 937,980. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $48.81 and a 200 day moving average of $42.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.50. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $31.87 and a fifty-two week high of $52.10.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 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 firm had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CAKE shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Cheesecake Factory from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.