Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.10.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PZZA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target 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.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $40.93 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.16. Papa John’s International has a 1 year low of $39.90 and a 1 year high of $86.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.94.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $513.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $544.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Papa John’s International

In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala bought 1,900 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,039,797.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the period. Cutler Group LLC CA bought a new position in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Papa John’s International by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $114,000.

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.