Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Trading 6.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) shares traded up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $35.26 and last traded at $34.8010. 474,904 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 1,325,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PZZA shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Papa John’s International Stock Up 7.0%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.18.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 206.74%.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,950,000 after buying an additional 318,816 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 10.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 2.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in Papa John’s International by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,174,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,546,000 after acquiring an additional 251,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Papa John’s International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,380,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares during the last quarter.

About Papa John’s International

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.