Optimist Retirement Group LLC Has $2.36 Million Position in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 984.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,526 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,220 shares during the period. Papa John's International accounts for about 1.2% of Optimist Retirement Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Optimist Retirement Group LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Papa John's International worth $2,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PZZA. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in Papa John's International during the first quarter valued at about $274,000. South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in Papa John's International during the first quarter valued at approximately $698,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Papa John's International during the first quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,906,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $31,885,000 after acquiring an additional 199,840 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PZZA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens reissued 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa John's International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.25.

Papa John's International Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of PZZA stock opened at $45.06 on Friday. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.16 and a 12 month high of $60.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.12.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Papa John's International had a net margin of 3.77% and a negative return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $518.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $512.48 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Papa John's International's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.30%.

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.

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