Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.10.

Several brokerages have weighed in on PZZA. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Friday, January 5th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Papa John’s International from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Papa John’s International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens began coverage on Papa John’s International in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th.

Insider Activity at Papa John’s International

In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cutler Group LLC CA bought a new position in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 396.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000.

Papa John’s International Trading Up 1.9 %

PZZA stock opened at $62.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14. Papa John’s International has a 12-month low of $60.24 and a 12-month high of $86.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.47.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.15 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.84%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is 74.80%.

Papa John’s 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.