Arvin Capital Management LP Takes Position in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

Arvin Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 203,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,979,000. Papa John’s International makes up 2.0% of Arvin Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Arvin Capital Management LP owned about 0.62% of Papa John’s International as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in Papa John’s International by 3.1% during the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 7,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,365,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 33,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 85.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,340,000 after buying an additional 22,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 922,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,162,000 after buying an additional 146,640 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PZZA. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Papa John’s International to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

PZZA opened at $41.20 on Wednesday. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.16 and a fifty-two week high of $55.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $508.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $523.67 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. Papa John’s International’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is currently 164.29%.

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.