Domino’s Pizza’s (DPZ) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ) in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $520.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $545.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Argus cut Domino’s Pizza from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Domino’s Pizza in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Domino’s Pizza from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.41.

Domino’s Pizza Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of DPZ stock opened at $482.28 on Tuesday. Domino’s Pizza has a 12 month low of $396.06 and a 12 month high of $542.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $443.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.98. The stock has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.90.

Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The restaurant operator reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.93 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Domino’s Pizza will post 16.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Domino’s Pizza Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Domino’s Pizza’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Domino’s Pizza’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Institutional Trading of Domino’s Pizza

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in shares of Domino’s Pizza in the third quarter valued at $549,399,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Domino’s Pizza by 278.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,643,000 after purchasing an additional 8,136 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Domino’s Pizza by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,099 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $98,545,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Domino’s Pizza by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 9,354 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,024,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.63% of the company’s stock.

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.