Domino's Pizza Inc (NASDAQ:DPZ) Short Interest Up 25.9% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 25.9% in March to 3,419,660 shares as of March 31, equal to 10.3% of the company's shares sold short and a days-to-cover ratio of about 3.2.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 94.63%, with major additions including Berkshire Hathaway increasing its stake to 3.35 million shares and large new or expanded positions from Northwestern Mutual and Norges Bank.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $471.79 price target despite several firms trimming targets, and Domino's raised its quarterly dividend to $1.99 (annualized $7.96), implying roughly a 2.2% yield.

Domino's Pizza Inc (NASDAQ:DPZ - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,419,660 shares, an increase of 25.9% from the March 15th total of 2,715,762 shares. Currently, 10.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,081,572 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Domino's Pizza from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Domino's Pizza from $500.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. William Blair set a $540.00 target price on shares of Domino's Pizza in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Domino's Pizza in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Domino's Pizza from $510.00 to $485.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Domino's Pizza has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $471.79.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Domino's Pizza

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DPZ. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Domino's Pizza by 21,977.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 914,672 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $381,254,000 after buying an additional 910,529 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Domino's Pizza during the 4th quarter worth $285,116,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its stake in Domino's Pizza by 12.3% during the 4th 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 period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Domino's Pizza by 2,845.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 264,024 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $113,982,000 after buying an additional 255,060 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Domino's Pizza by 8,229.8% during the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 242,314 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $104,609,000 after buying an additional 239,405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.63% of the company's stock.

Domino's Pizza Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of DPZ stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $368.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 264,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 910,230. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $383.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $403.79. Domino's Pizza has a 12-month low of $346.31 and a 12-month high of $499.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.18.

Domino's Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.38 by ($0.03). Domino's Pizza had a net margin of 12.18% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Domino's Pizza will post 16.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Domino's Pizza Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.99 per share. This is a positive change from Domino's Pizza's previous quarterly dividend of $1.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $7.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Domino's Pizza's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

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.

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