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

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Papa Johns International from $58.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $64.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Papa Johns International Stock Down 1.4 %

PZZA stock opened at $52.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.20. Papa Johns International has a fifty-two week low of $39.90 and a fifty-two week high of $78.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.55.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.08. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 3.25% and a negative return on equity of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $507.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $520.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Papa Johns International will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is currently 81.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,769,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,074,000 after acquiring an additional 166,246 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Papa Johns International by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,170,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,991,000 after purchasing an additional 446,477 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,586,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,042,000 after purchasing an additional 281,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,812,000 after purchasing an additional 176,470 shares during the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

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.