Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 7,522 Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC bought 7,522 shares of Papa John's International, valued at approximately $309,000, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Despite a recent earnings beat, with $0.41 EPS reported against a $0.34 estimate, analysts have mixed ratings—six firms rating it as a hold and five as a buy, with an average price target of $52.33.
• Papa John's International announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, offering a 3.9% yield, with a high dividend payout ratio of 81.42%.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PZZA. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 170.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,727 shares of the company's stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 8,023 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 201,505 shares of the company's stock worth $8,276,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Papa John's International by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 135,958 shares of the company's stock worth $5,584,000 after purchasing an additional 11,888 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Papa John's International in the fourth quarter worth $5,647,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Papa John's International in the fourth quarter worth $1,372,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PZZA. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $42.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John's International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.33.

Papa John's International Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of PZZA stock traded down $0.73 on Thursday, reaching $44.32. 583,647 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 948,932. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.16 and a 52 week high of $60.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $46.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.97.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $529.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.48 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 3.58%.Papa John's International's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's payout ratio is currently 81.42%.

Papa John's International Profile

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.