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 growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,040,000 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the March 31st total of 6,440,000 shares. Currently, 15.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 821,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.6 days.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.63. The stock had a trading volume of 271,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,467. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.48. 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 1 year low of $28.58 and a 1 year high of $38.19.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 41.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.64.

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.