Stephens Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by analysts at Stephens in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 price target on the stock. Stephens‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 3.70% from the stock’s current price.

PZZA has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $28.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Papa John’s International from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $28.57.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PZZA stock traded down $0.16 on Thursday, hitting $19.73. 1,707,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,393,312. The firm has a market capitalization of $649.51 million, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.07 and a 200 day moving average of $29.62. Papa John’s International has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $48.83.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. The business had revenue of $454.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.48 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 1.34%. Papa John’s International’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the third quarter valued at $73,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 102.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 110,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after buying an additional 56,087 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Papa John’s International by 49.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Papa John’s International during the third quarter worth $445,000.

Key Stories Impacting Papa John’s International

Here are the key news stories impacting Papa John’s International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reported that third-quarter earnings of $0.16 per share beat its consensus estimate. However, earnings were down from $0.32 a year earlier, and other coverage said results matched the $0.16 consensus. Zacks earnings article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company outlined a plan to jump-start growth, though the provided coverage does not detail its measures or expected impact. Article on Papa John’s growth plan
• Negative Sentiment: Papa John’s cut its full-year outlook again as the turnaround takes longer than expected. Third-quarter revenue was $454.84 million, below the $459.48 million estimate and down 10.5% year over year; EPS also fell to $0.16 from $0.32. The company cited competition and cautious diners as headwinds. Bloomberg outlook coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed its “equal weight” rating and set a $19 price target, slightly below the cited share price, signaling limited near-term upside in its view. Stephens rating information

About Papa John’s International

Papa John’s International, Inc operates and franchises restaurants under the Papa Johns brand. The company specializes in pizza and related food products, serving customers primarily through delivery, carryout and dine-in locations, as well as online and mobile ordering platforms.

Its menu includes a variety of pizzas with different crusts and toppings, along with sides such as breadsticks, chicken products and desserts. Papa Johns also offers soft drinks, dipping sauces and other complementary items, with menus and promotions adapted to local markets.

Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter, Papa Johns has grown into an international restaurant system with locations across North America and various markets in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and other regions.