American Century Companies Inc. Invests $1.06 Million in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. acquired 25,795 shares of Papa John's International, Inc. valued at approximately $1,060,000, representing a 0.08% ownership in the company.
• Papa John's reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $529.17 million reflecting a year-over-year increase of 4.2%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 81.42%.

American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Papa John's International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Papa John's International by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,358,945 shares of the company's stock worth $55,812,000 after buying an additional 173,316 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,117,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,885,000 after buying an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in Papa John's International by 34.7% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 776,169 shares of the company's stock worth $31,885,000 after purchasing an additional 199,840 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Papa John's International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 591,937 shares of the company's stock worth $24,310,000 after purchasing an additional 15,513 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Papa John's International by 31.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 428,961 shares of the company's stock worth $17,622,000 after purchasing an additional 102,137 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PZZA shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, August 4th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $52.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.33.

Papa John's International Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.44. 385,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,303,714. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.15. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.16 and a 1 year high of $60.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.91 and a 200 day moving average of $43.24.

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

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.42%.

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.