Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) Short Interest Down 7.6% in October

Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) saw a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, a decline of 7.6% from the September 30th total of 1,840,000 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 653,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DPZ shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Domino’s Pizza from $500.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Domino’s Pizza from $580.00 to $535.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Domino’s Pizza from $450.00 to $420.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Domino’s Pizza presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $489.55.

Domino’s Pizza Stock Performance

DPZ stock traded up $12.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $425.83. 667,820 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 608,707. Domino’s Pizza has a 52 week low of $345.76 and a 52 week high of $542.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $418.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.32.

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The restaurant operator reported $4.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.54. Domino’s Pizza had a negative return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Domino’s Pizza will post 16.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Domino’s Pizza Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Insider Activity at Domino’s Pizza

In other Domino’s Pizza news, Director Andrew Balson sold 6,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $428.27, for a total transaction of $2,985,041.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,591,075.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Domino’s Pizza

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DPZ. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 6.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 26,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,356,000 after buying an additional 9,072 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Domino’s Pizza in the first quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new stake in Domino’s Pizza in the first quarter worth about $390,000. Finally, Insight Folios Inc increased its position in Domino’s Pizza by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 94.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.