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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DPZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Domino's Pizza from $582.00 to $557.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Domino's Pizza from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Domino's Pizza from $450.00 to $420.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Domino's Pizza from $580.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Domino's Pizza from $500.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Domino's Pizza currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $495.76.

Domino's Pizza Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of DPZ traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $419.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,140. Domino's Pizza has a one year low of $395.08 and a one year high of $542.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $441.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $442.46.

Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Domino's Pizza had a negative return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 12.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Domino's Pizza will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Domino's Pizza Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Domino's Pizza's payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin Scott Morris sold 2,646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.00, for a total value of $1,214,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,966 shares in the company, valued at $902,394. This trade represents a 57.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew Balson sold 6,970 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $428.27, for a total value 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 represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Domino's Pizza

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DPZ. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Domino's Pizza by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in Domino's Pizza by 5.0% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 568 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Domino's Pizza by 4.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 663 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Domino's Pizza by 5.7% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 684 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Domino's Pizza by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,593 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,266,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.63% of the company's stock.

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.