WBI Investments LLC Buys New Position in 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 acquired a new position in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 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 and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the 4th quarter valued at $17,328,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Papa John's International during the first quarter worth about $14,348,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John's International during the first quarter worth about $10,115,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in Papa John's International by 34.7% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 776,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,885,000 after purchasing an additional 199,840 shares during the period. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Papa John's International during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,640,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Papa John's International Stock Performance

PZZA traded down $1.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.24. 354,511 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,296,181. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $45.99 and its two-hundred 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 stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.15.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $515.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.