Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA – Get Rating) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01, MarketWatch Earnings reports. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 5.80% and a negative return on equity of 73.09%. The firm had revenue of $542.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

PZZA traded down $2.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.36. 866,295 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 483,952. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -158.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.96. Papa John’s International has a 1 year low of $86.37 and a 1 year high of $140.68.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 13th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is -254.55%.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,041,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,456,000 after acquiring an additional 560,069 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 195,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,116,000 after acquiring an additional 39,712 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,104,000 after acquiring an additional 21,497 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 48,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 47,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,322,000 after acquiring an additional 3,801 shares during the last quarter. 98.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Several research analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $145.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $165.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 2nd. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $120.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.60.

Papa John’s International Company Profile (Get Rating)

Papa John's International, Inc operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.

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