Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Trading 8.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) traded up 8.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $35.73 and last traded at $35.3370. 1,186,013 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 1,211,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PZZA. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Papa John’s International from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Papa John’s International from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.50.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.62.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $478.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.51 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 1.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is presently 221.69%.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 42,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 12,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter.

Papa John’s International Company Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.