Boothbay Fund Management LLC Has $20.13 Million Stock Holdings in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Boothbay Fund Management LLC reduced its stake in Papa John's International by 9.4%, selling 50,745 shares and now owning 489,949 shares worth approximately $20.1 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Papa John's stock, with an average target price of $52.33 and a mix of ratings including five "Buy" and six "Hold."
• Papa John's reported a quarterly EPS of $0.41, exceeding expectations and achieving 4.2% year-over-year revenue growth, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share.

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 489,949 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,745 shares during the quarter. Papa John's International comprises about 0.5% of Boothbay Fund Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned approximately 1.50% of Papa John's International worth $20,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Papa John's International during the 1st quarter valued at $600,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Papa John's International by 25.8% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 81,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 16,755 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Papa John's International by 32.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Papa John's International by 72.6% during the first quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 310,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,760,000 after purchasing an additional 130,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Papa John's International during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,640,000.

Papa John's International Stock Up 0.1%

PZZA traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.75. 744,481 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,305,678. Papa John's International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.16 and a fifty-two week high of $60.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.15.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's payout ratio is currently 81.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John's International presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.33.

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.