Papa John’s International’s (PZZA) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $75.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on PZZA. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $64.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Papa John’s International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Wedbush cut their price objective on Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $76.36.

Papa John’s International Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Papa John’s International stock opened at $47.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. Papa John’s International has a twelve month low of $46.81 and a twelve month high of $86.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.89.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.09. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business had revenue of $513.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $544.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Papa John’s International will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is 81.78%.

Insider Transactions at Papa John’s International

In other Papa John’s International news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala acquired 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.41 per share, with a total value of $99,579.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Cutler Group LLC CA acquired a new position in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 396.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 277.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter.

About Papa John’s 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.