Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Holdings Boosted by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 45.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,153 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,326 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Papa John's International worth $1,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 119.6% in the first quarter. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC now owns 92,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after buying an additional 50,260 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the first quarter valued at $279,000. Guidance Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 5.7% in the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 984.2% in the first quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 57,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,363,000 after buying an additional 52,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Papa John's International in the first quarter valued at $274,000.

Papa John's International Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Papa John's International stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.94. 459,326 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 975,892. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.74 and a 200-day moving average of $42.23. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $518.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.48 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 3.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PZZA. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Papa John's International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John's International has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.25.

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.