Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) Short Interest Update

Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,290,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 2,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 590,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 6.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Domino’s Pizza Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DPZ opened at $419.76 on Thursday. Domino’s Pizza has a 1-year low of $395.08 and a 1-year high of $542.75. The stock has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $441.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $442.46.

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The restaurant operator reported $4.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Domino’s Pizza had a net margin of 12.26% and a negative return on equity of 14.35%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Domino’s Pizza will post 16.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Domino’s Pizza Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

Insider Activity at Domino’s Pizza

In other news, Director Andrew Balson sold 6,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $428.27, for a total transaction of $2,985,041.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,591,075.30. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin Scott Morris sold 2,646 shares of Domino’s Pizza stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.00, for a total transaction of $1,214,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $902,394. This trade represents a 57.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Domino’s Pizza

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in Domino’s Pizza in the 3rd quarter valued at $549,399,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 40,191.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 523,790 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $225,303,000 after acquiring an additional 522,490 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 16.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,189,836 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $941,936,000 after acquiring an additional 307,528 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Domino’s Pizza during the third quarter worth about $99,352,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Domino’s Pizza by 85.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 327,166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $168,926,000 after purchasing an additional 150,526 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DPZ has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $582.00 to $557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Domino’s Pizza from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $470.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.76.

About Domino’s Pizza

Domino’s Pizza, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a pizza company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Stores, International Franchise, and Supply Chain. It offers pizzas under the Domino’s brand name through company-owned and franchised stores.