Short Interest in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Drops By 5.8%

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,710,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the July 15th total of 6,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 12.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $37.19 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.51. Cheesecake Factory has a 52 week low of $28.58 and a 52 week high of $41.25.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $904.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.19 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.54%.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 39.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the period. JCP Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth $5,149,000. Shellback Capital LP bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,120,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 142.5% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 29,062 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CAKE shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.08.

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.