Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NASDAQ:DPZ)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $462.37, but opened at $441.00. Domino’s Pizza shares last traded at $444.45, with a volume of 554,580 shares.

The restaurant operator reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.93 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. Domino’s Pizza had a negative return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.48 EPS.

Domino’s Pizza Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.74 dividend. This is an increase from Domino’s Pizza’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DPZ shares. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Domino’s Pizza from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Domino’s Pizza from $490.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DPZ. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Domino’s Pizza during the third quarter worth about $549,399,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Domino’s Pizza during the 4th quarter worth approximately $250,571,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,189,836 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $941,936,000 after purchasing an additional 307,528 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Domino’s Pizza in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $99,352,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Domino’s Pizza by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 609,036 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,649,000 after buying an additional 191,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.63% of the company’s stock.

Domino’s Pizza Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.35. The stock has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.90.

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.