Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the October 15th total of 1,700,000 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 635,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Domino’s Pizza

In related news, Director Andrew Balson sold 6,970 shares of Domino’s Pizza stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 15,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,591,075.30. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Domino’s Pizza

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Domino’s Pizza by 162.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 63 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Domino’s Pizza by 2,033.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Domino’s Pizza in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Domino’s Pizza in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 654.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 83 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DPZ has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Domino’s Pizza from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza from $500.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Domino’s Pizza from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $419.00 to $559.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.38.

Domino’s Pizza Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of DPZ traded down $5.54 on Friday, reaching $430.43. 1,571,308 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,032. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $423.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $457.62. The stock has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.86. Domino’s Pizza has a 52-week low of $367.24 and a 52-week high of $542.75.

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The restaurant operator reported $4.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. Domino’s Pizza’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Domino’s Pizza will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Domino’s Pizza Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Domino’s Pizza’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Domino’s Pizza Company Profile

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.