Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives $45.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PZZA. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 4,705 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International in the first quarter worth $600,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Papa John’s International by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 25.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 310,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,762,000 after acquiring an additional 62,103 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 81.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 112,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,625,000 after acquiring an additional 50,536 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John’s International Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA opened at $34.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.02. Papa John’s International has a 52-week low of $29.55 and a 52-week high of $55.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $498.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 1.44%.The business’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is 206.74%.

About Papa John’s International

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.