Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,923 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,895 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Papa John’s International worth $6,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 111.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 6.1%

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $44.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.04. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.16 and a 12-month high of $60.75.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $518.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.48 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 3.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PZZA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.25.

Papa John’s International Company Profile

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.