The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Short Interest Down 5.8% in July

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 151,695 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 77,575 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $914,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $727,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $2,532,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $844,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $38.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.51. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $28.58 and a 12 month high of $41.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.14 and its 200-day moving average is $36.69.

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

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 49.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.