Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Position in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Papa John's International by 3.5%, now holding 3,711,805 shares worth approximately $152.5 million.
• Papa John's International reported a 4.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.41, surpassing estimates of $0.34 by $0.07.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, with an annualized yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 81.42%.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,711,805 shares of the company's stock after selling 136,314 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.35% of Papa John's International worth $152,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 4.6% in the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,842 shares of the company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 27.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,746 shares of the company's stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,906 shares of the company's stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Papa John's International by 5.7% in the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period.

Papa John's International Stock Down 1.9%

PZZA opened at $45.05 on Thursday. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.16 and a 52-week high of $60.75. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $46.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.94.

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

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PZZA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Benchmark reiterated 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. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. 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 report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.33.

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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