Moody National Bank Trust Division Increases Stock Position in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Papa John's International by 24%, acquiring a total of 35,518 shares worth approximately $1.74 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Papa John's shares with Benchmark setting a target of $60, up from $50, while UBS and Deutsche Bank also increased their targets to $42 and $46, respectively.
• Papa John's reported a 4.2% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year and a notable earnings per share of $0.41, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.34.

Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 24.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,518 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,880 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division owned about 0.11% of Papa John's International worth $1,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Papa John's International in the first quarter worth approximately $14,348,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Papa John's International in the first quarter valued at $10,115,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in Papa John's International by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 776,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,885,000 after purchasing an additional 199,840 shares during the period. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Papa John's International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,640,000. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $12,760,000 after buying an additional 130,622 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John's International Stock Performance

Papa John's International stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.64. The company had a trading volume of 249,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,510. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.16 and a 1-year high of $60.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.15.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $529.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's payout ratio is 81.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.