Short Interest in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Expands By 9.3%

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,040,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the March 31st total of 6,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 821,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.6 days. Currently, 15.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.64.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.3 %

CAKE stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 271,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,467. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $28.58 and a 52-week high of $38.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.83.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 41.66%. The company had revenue of $877.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 52.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $844,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 411,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,454,000 after acquiring an additional 131,295 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $2,335,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter worth $2,246,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,568,464 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $168,724,000 after acquiring an additional 22,099 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.