Cetera Investment Advisers Takes Position in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has acquired 10,409 shares of Papa John's International, valued at approximately $428,000, as reported in its Q1 13F filing.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Papa John's, with Allspring Global Investments lifting its stake by 117.4% to own 49,084 shares worth $2,040,000.
• Papa John's reported a quarterly revenue of $529.17 million, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, reflecting a 3.9% yield.

Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Papa John's International by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 39,153 shares of the company's stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 12,326 shares during the period. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Papa John's International by 119.6% in the 1st quarter. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC now owns 92,276 shares of the company's stock worth $3,791,000 after buying an additional 50,260 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the 1st quarter worth $279,000. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Papa John's International by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the period. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Papa John's International by 984.2% in the 1st quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 57,526 shares of the company's stock worth $2,363,000 after buying an additional 52,220 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $52.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.33.

Papa John's International Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of PZZA traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,280,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,789. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.02. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.16 and a 52 week high of $60.75.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $529.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.48 million. Papa John's International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Papa John's International's payout ratio 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.