Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $46.28 Million Stock Holdings in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 985,105 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,996 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 2.99% of Papa Johns International worth $46,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Cowen AND Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,736,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,204,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Papa Johns International by 30.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,042,000 after acquiring an additional 281,399 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,698,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,502,000 after purchasing an additional 192,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,769,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,074,000 after purchasing an additional 166,246 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Stock Down 3.1 %

Papa Johns International stock opened at $50.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.72. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.90 and a 12 month high of $78.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $507.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PZZA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Papa Johns International from $64.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $78.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $58.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.82.

About Papa Johns 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.