Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) Short Interest Up 5.5% in December

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Domino’s Pizza

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DPZ. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Domino’s Pizza by 2.4% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,901 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Domino’s Pizza by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Domino’s Pizza by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 17,749 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,164,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in Domino’s Pizza in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Domino’s Pizza by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 18,563 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,585,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. 94.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Domino’s Pizza Price Performance

Shares of DPZ opened at $434.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $442.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $442.40. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. Domino’s Pizza has a 1-year low of $395.08 and a 1-year high of $542.75.

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

Domino’s Pizza Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DPZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $580.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Domino’s Pizza from $485.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Domino’s Pizza presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.