Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Holdings in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,477 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,153 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.32% of Papa John's International worth $4,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Papa John's International during the 4th quarter valued at $17,328,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Papa John's International during the 1st quarter valued at $14,348,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 124.8% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 540,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,206,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 776,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,885,000 after buying an additional 199,840 shares during the period. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Papa John's International in the 4th quarter worth $7,393,000.

Papa John's International Stock Down 1.4%

PZZA stock traded down $0.6350 during trading on Thursday, reaching $44.4150. The company's stock had a trading volume of 369,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,979. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.16 and a 1 year high of $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.13. The company's fifty day moving average is $46.26 and its 200-day moving average is $42.94.

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

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. 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 report on Friday, August 15th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.