Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA Stake Boosted by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Papa John's International by 4.1%, now owning approximately 399,784 shares worth $16.4 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Papa John's International reported a better-than-expected EPS of $0.41 for the recent quarter, exceeding forecasts of $0.34, and had a 4.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a $0.46 quarterly dividend, representing a 4.0% yield, with the announcement detailing a payout ratio of 81.42%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 399,784 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,892 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.22% of Papa John's International worth $16,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 214.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 27.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 506.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 2,758.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,144 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Papa John's International Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.67. 2,168,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,069,490. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.13. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.97 and its 200-day moving average is $43.28. Papa John's International, Inc. has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $60.75.

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

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is 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.