WBI Investments LLC Buys Shares of 25,840 Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Papa John's International, purchasing 25,840 shares valued at approximately $1,062,000.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Papa John's stock, with recommendations ranging from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, highlighting a consensus target of approximately $52.33.
• Papa John's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.7% and reflecting a payout ratio of 81.42%.

WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,000. WBI Investments LLC owned about 0.08% of Papa John's International as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Papa John's International by 4.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 399,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,423,000 after purchasing an additional 15,892 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John's International by 117.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 49,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 26,505 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the first quarter valued at $230,000. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John's International by 119.6% in the first quarter. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC now owns 92,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 50,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa John's International by 12.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,825,000 after acquiring an additional 18,099 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PZZA shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Papa John's International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.33.

Papa John's International Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $49.74 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $45.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.32. Papa John's International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.16 and a twelve month high of $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.15.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $515.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is 81.42%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PZZA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.