Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.60.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Friday, March 1st.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $57.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16. Papa John’s International has a 12-month low of $57.69 and a 12-month high of $86.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.20.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $571.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.15 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Papa John’s International will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Papa John’s International

In other news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 6.9% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter.

About Papa John’s International

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. The company operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.