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

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.60.

PZZA has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research downgraded Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens initiated coverage on Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark cut their price objective on Papa John’s International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $57.93 on Wednesday. Papa John’s International has a 1-year low of $57.69 and a 1-year high of $86.38. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.20.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.84%. The firm had revenue of $571.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter.

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.