The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,114,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,288,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,062,000 after acquiring an additional 673,076 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth $21,827,000. Finally, JCP Investment Management LLC grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 181.3% in the 4th quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC now owns 667,210 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,652,000 after purchasing an additional 430,000 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

CAKE opened at $48.27 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $33.05 and a 1 year high of $57.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. Research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.