GAMMA Investing LLC Trims Stock Position in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

GAMMA Investing LLC lessened its holdings in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 43.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 915 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $59,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 4,646.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 937.8% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 181.8% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 214.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PZZA. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.33.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 1.2%

Papa John’s International stock opened at $47.34 on Friday. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.16 and a 52-week high of $60.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.43 and a 200-day moving average of $43.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. The company had revenue of $529.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.42%.

Papa John’s International 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.