By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,120,000 shares, a growth of 13.1% from the November 30th total of 5,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days. Approximately 13.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently commented on CAKE. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.93.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Cheesecake Factory
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Wealth Alliance bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter worth $223,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 0.1 %
CAKE stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.44. The stock had a trading volume of 721,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,393. Cheesecake Factory has a 1-year low of $31.24 and a 1-year high of $52.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.75 and a 200 day moving average of $41.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48.
Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 41.06%.
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.
Further Reading
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