Anson Funds Management LP Makes New Investment in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Anson Funds Management LP bought 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 (SEC). The firm bought 75,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,431,000. Anson Funds Management LP owned approximately 0.23% of Papa John's International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company's stock worth $74,950,000 after purchasing an additional 318,816 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Papa John's International by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company's stock worth $83,201,000 after acquiring an additional 161,906 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Papa John's International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,657,994 shares of the company's stock worth $63,816,000 after acquiring an additional 42,810 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,380,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 874,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,104,000 after acquiring an additional 26,190 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PZZA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Papa John's International from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Papa John's International from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa John's International presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Papa John's International Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $30.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.22. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.55 and a 12-month high of $55.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.12.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $478.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.51 million. Papa John's International had a net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 10.71%. The company's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Papa John's International's payout ratio is currently 221.69%.

Papa John's International Profile

Papa John's International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John's restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John's centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.

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