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. acquired a new position in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PZZA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 4,646.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 712 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 214.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 506.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Papa John's International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PZZA shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a 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. 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. Loop Capital dropped their target price 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 target price on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa John's International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.33.

Papa John's International Stock Up 1.8%

PZZA traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.24. 752,901 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,041,731. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.15. Papa John's International, Inc. has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $60.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $45.90 and its 200 day moving average is $43.30.

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

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.42%.

About Papa John's 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.