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

Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 largest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 2.61% of Cheesecake Factory as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $47.99 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.67. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12 month low of $31.24 and a 12 month high of $52.10. 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 capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.50.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $653,178.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAKE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.