Domino’s Pizza Inc (NASDAQ:DPZ) Short Interest Up 37.6% in March
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyDomino’s Pizza Inc (NASDAQ:DPZ – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,715,762 shares, an increase of 37.6% from the February 26th total of 1,973,090 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 974,376 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.
Domino’s Pizza Price Performance
DPZ stock traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $349.44. 825,437 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 931,235. Domino’s Pizza has a fifty-two week low of $346.31 and a fifty-two week high of $499.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $392.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $409.77. The company has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.16.
Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ – Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter. Domino’s Pizza had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a net margin of 12.18%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Domino’s Pizza will post 16.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Domino’s Pizza Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $1.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Domino’s Pizza’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.74. This represents a $7.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Domino’s Pizza by 21,977.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 914,672 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $381,254,000 after buying an additional 910,529 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Domino’s Pizza in the 4th quarter valued at $285,116,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 3,350,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,396,347,000 after buying an additional 368,055 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 2,845.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 264,024 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $113,982,000 after acquiring an additional 255,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Domino’s Pizza by 8,229.8% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 242,314 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $104,609,000 after purchasing an additional 239,405 shares during the period. 94.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently weighed in on DPZ. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair set a $540.00 price objective on Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $510.00 to $485.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $475.71.
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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.