Trexquant Investment LP Decreases Stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Trexquant Investment LP lessened its holdings in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,719 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,695 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.28% of Cheesecake Factory worth $6,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 360,718 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $17,112,000 after purchasing an additional 32,000 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,401,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $489,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 9.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,595 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 22,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 252.6% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 22,752 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 16,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock traded down $1.28 on Monday, reaching $44.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,853,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,864. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $51.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.08. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52-week low of $33.05 and a 52-week high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $912.67 million. Sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $1,553,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAKE. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.13.

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.