Ancora Advisors LLC Has $3.36 Million Stake in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Papa John's International by 25.8%, now holding 81,675 shares valued at approximately $3.36 million.
• Recent analysts' reports suggest a consensus target price of $52.33 for Papa John's stock, with ratings including five "Buy" and six "Hold" recommendations.
• Papa John's reported earnings of $0.41 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenues up 4.2% year-over-year.

Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 25.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,675 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,755 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC owned about 0.25% of Papa John's International worth $3,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Papa John's International by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Papa John's International by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in Papa John's International by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Papa John's International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. grew its stake in Papa John's International by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $52.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Friday, August 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Papa John's International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.33.

Papa John's International Stock Performance

Papa John's International stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $49.65. 603,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,837. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.15. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.16 and a 12 month high of $60.75. The business's 50-day moving average is $45.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's dividend 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.