Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Down 5.8% – Time to Sell?

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)’s stock price fell 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.76 and last traded at $46.12. 497,060 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,753,567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PZZA. Northcoast Research upgraded Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Stock Down 2.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.49 and a 200 day moving average of $46.77.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,589,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,371,000 after acquiring an additional 27,912 shares during the period. Irth Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 4th quarter valued at $66,883,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Papa Johns International by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,500,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,635,000 after purchasing an additional 102,128 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,358,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,812,000 after purchasing an additional 173,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,156,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,506,000 after buying an additional 64,972 shares during the last quarter.

About Papa Johns International

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.