Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Acquires 173,316 Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,358,945 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 173,316 shares during the period. Papa Johns International accounts for about 1.1% of Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 4.16% of Papa Johns International worth $55,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 10,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,639 shares of the company's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 111.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period.

Papa Johns International Stock Up 2.6%

PZZA stock traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.13. 394,099 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,242,501. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.54. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.16 and a 1-year high of $60.75.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm had revenue of $518.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $512.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The company's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Papa Johns International's payout ratio is 78.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PZZA. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Papa Johns International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Papa Johns International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.25.

About Papa Johns International

Papa John's International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.