Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.25.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Papa John’s International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PZZA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 4,646.7% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 937.8% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 111.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Papa John’s International by 214.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $48.80 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.70. Papa John’s International has a 1-year low of $30.16 and a 1-year high of $60.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.77% and a negative return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $518.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $512.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.30%.

About Papa John’s 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.