Brokerages Set Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Price Target at $55.83

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.83.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PZZA shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,485 shares during the last quarter. Irth Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,883,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,156,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,506,000 after acquiring an additional 64,972 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Papa Johns International by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 389,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,011,000 after acquiring an additional 59,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Papa Johns International by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 383,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,766,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $38.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.38. Papa Johns International has a 12 month low of $35.28 and a 12 month high of $76.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Papa Johns International will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

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.