Short Interest in Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) Increases By 21.8%

Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 635,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 6.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Domino's Pizza Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Domino's Pizza stock traded down $5.54 on Friday, hitting $430.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,571,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 518,032. Domino's Pizza has a one year low of $367.24 and a one year high of $542.75. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.86.

Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Domino's Pizza had a net margin of 12.26% and a negative return on equity of 14.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Domino's Pizza will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Domino's Pizza Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Domino's Pizza's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Domino's Pizza news, Director Andrew Balson sold 6,970 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 15,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,591,075.30. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale 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

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Domino's Pizza by 5.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,089 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,921,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Domino's Pizza by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,014 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Domino's Pizza by 40.5% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 19,409 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,349,000 after buying an additional 5,599 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Domino's Pizza by 53.1% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,251 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,829,000 after buying an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stansberry Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Domino's Pizza by 74.4% in the third quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC now owns 32,352 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $13,916,000 after buying an additional 13,804 shares during the period. 94.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DPZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Domino's Pizza from $450.00 to $420.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Domino's Pizza from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Domino's Pizza in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Domino's Pizza from $430.00 to $420.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $494.38.

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.

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