Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives $82.10 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.10.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PZZA. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “sell” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday, January 4th. BTIG Research cut shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, January 5th.

Insider Activity at Papa John’s International

In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 17,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 38.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA opened at $61.90 on Friday. Papa John’s International has a one year low of $60.66 and a one year high of $86.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The firm had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Papa John’s International will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.80%.

About Papa John’s International

Papa John's International, Inc operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.