The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Short Interest Down 8.8% in November

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,410,000 shares, a decline of 8.8% from the November 15th total of 5,930,000 shares. Currently, 11.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $1.57 during trading on Monday, hitting $51.44. The stock had a trading volume of 755,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,992. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $31.24 and a fifty-two week high of $52.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAKE. Barclays increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $747,052.76. This represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2.2% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,600 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,341 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 0.7% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 530,497 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $20,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,872 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.