Short Interest in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Expands By 20.3%

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,130,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 6,760,000 shares. Approximately 17.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.94. 559,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,699. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $33.05 and a 52-week high of $57.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.56 and a 200 day moving average of $47.01.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.67 million. Research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total transaction of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares in the company, valued at $164,131,162.76. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,687.36. The trade was a 42.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAKE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.19.

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.