New Century Financial Group LLC Acquires New Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,645 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,000. New Century Financial Group LLC owned 0.06% of Cheesecake Factory at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. IPG Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 151,695 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after buying an additional 77,575 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $914,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth about $727,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth about $2,532,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at about $844,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE stock traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.22. 568,088 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 834,819. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.43. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $28.58 and a 12-month high of $41.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.51.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 42.15% and a net margin of 3.07%. The firm had revenue of $891.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $890.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 49.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CAKE shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised Cheesecake Factory from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $151,778.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,125,687.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

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.