123,300 Shares in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Purchased by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Papa John's International, totaling $5.02 million for 123,300 shares, representing approximately 0.38% of the company at the end of the reporting period.
• Several analysts have revised their target prices for Papa John's stock, with some lowering their estimates while others maintain a "buy" rating, resulting in an average price target of $51.25.
• Papa John's recently declared a $0.46 quarterly dividend, yielding 4.4%, demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders despite a 78.30% dividend payout ratio.

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 123,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,020,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.38% of Papa John's International as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Papa John's International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John's International by 214.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John's International by 27.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000.

Papa John's International Stock Performance

PZZA traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.79. 623,551 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,833. The company's fifty day moving average price is $46.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.45. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.13. Papa John's International, Inc. has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $60.75.

Papa John's 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $518.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.48 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 3.77%. Papa John's International's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Papa John's International's payout ratio is 78.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PZZA shares. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Papa John's International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Papa John's International presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.25.

Papa John's International Company 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.