Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE:DIN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE:DIN) by 628.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,827 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 89,567 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Dine Brands Global were worth $3,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DIN. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Dine Brands Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dine Brands Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Dine Brands Global by 2,570.0% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 2,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,827 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Dine Brands Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dine Brands Global by 243.1% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. 92.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Dine Brands Global Price Performance

Shares of DIN opened at $24.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $389.85 million, a P/E ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.26. Dine Brands Global, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.63 and a 12 month high of $45.39.

Dine Brands Global (NYSE:DIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.15). Dine Brands Global had a negative return on equity of 37.75% and a net margin of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $214.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Dine Brands Global, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Dine Brands Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.18%. Dine Brands Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DIN. UBS Group lowered their price target on Dine Brands Global from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $26.00 price objective on Dine Brands Global in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Dine Brands Global from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Dine Brands Global from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Dine Brands Global from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Dine Brands Global has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.29.

Dine Brands Global Profile

Dine Brands Global, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns, franchises, and operates restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company operates through six segments: Applebee's Franchise Operations, International House of Pancakes (IHOP) Franchise Solutions, Fuzzy's franchise operations, Rental Operations, Financing Operations, and Company-Operated Restaurant Operations.