Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Given “Overweight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $50.00 price objective on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Papa Johns International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.25.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $50.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.53. Papa Johns International has a fifty-two week low of $30.16 and a fifty-two week high of $60.75.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $518.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $512.48 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Research analysts predict that Papa Johns International will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 7,045.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 22,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 22,263 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 5,456 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 101,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 159,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter.

About Papa Johns International

Papa John’s International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.