Domino’s Pizza Inc (NASDAQ:DPZ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Domino’s Pizza Inc (NASDAQ:DPZ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,715,762 shares, a growth of 37.6% from the February 26th total of 1,973,090 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 974,376 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 8.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DPZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $510.00 to $485.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Hovde Group set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $475.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Domino’s Pizza during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 200.0% in the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 84 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Domino’s Pizza during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new position in shares of Domino’s Pizza during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 94.63% of the company’s stock.

Domino’s Pizza Stock Performance

DPZ opened at $352.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $391.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $409.04. Domino’s Pizza has a twelve month low of $346.31 and a twelve month high of $499.08.

Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.38 by ($0.03). Domino’s Pizza had a net margin of 12.18% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Domino’s Pizza will post 16.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Domino’s Pizza Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $1.99 dividend. This represents a $7.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Domino’s Pizza’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.74. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Domino’s Pizza Company Profile

Domino’s Pizza, Inc (NASDAQ: DPZ) is a global pizza delivery and carryout chain founded in 1960 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company specializes in a broad range of hand‐crafted pizzas, including hand-tossed, thin crust and specialty offerings, alongside side items such as chicken wings, sandwiches, pasta, desserts and beverages. Domino’s has built its brand on convenience and speed, leveraging proprietary ordering platforms and its Domino’s Tracker system to provide real-time status updates from order placement through delivery.

Operating predominantly under a franchise model, Domino’s has more than 17,000 stores worldwide, with approximately 95% of outlets owned and operated by independent franchisees.