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

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.7778.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PZZA. Stephens set a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Papa John’s International Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA opened at $48.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.10. Papa John’s International has a 52-week low of $30.16 and a 52-week high of $60.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.58.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.48 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 3.58%.Papa John’s International’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Papa John’s International by 22.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 7,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 74,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 7,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter.

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.