Domino’s Pizza downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

Citi analyst Jon Tower downgraded Domino’s Pizza to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $316, down from $429, post the Q4 results. Decelerating trends in both delivery and carryout and an only 2% same-store-sales gap between essentially fully staffed stores and the bottom quintile of stores suggest the company’s problems "run deeper" than just staffing and the solutions may be a tougher fix, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes this will translate into at least another year of challenged growth. With limited visibility into earnings growth sustainably reaccelerating and a "still-elevated valuation," Citi downgraded the shares.