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

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PZZA shares. Stephens dropped their target price on Papa John’s International from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Papa John’s International by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,950,000 after purchasing an additional 318,816 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 10.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,201,000 after acquiring an additional 161,906 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,657,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,816,000 after acquiring an additional 42,810 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 27.3% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,174,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,546,000 after acquiring an additional 251,560 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,380,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares during the period.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 0.9%

PZZA stock opened at $34.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.18. Papa John’s International has a twelve month low of $29.55 and a twelve month high of $55.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.60 and a 200-day moving average of $39.67.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $498.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 1.44%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 206.74%.

Papa John’s International Company Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.