Woodline Partners LP Acquires New Shares in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP made a new investment of approximately $10.12 million in Papa John's International, acquiring 246,229 shares during the first quarter.
• Papa John's reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.41, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.34, and achieved revenue of $529.17 million, which is also above expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.7% with a payout ratio of 81.42%.

Woodline Partners LP purchased 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 disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 246,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,115,000. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.75% of Papa John's International as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Papa John's International by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 363,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,919,000 after acquiring an additional 32,416 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Papa John's International by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 149,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,148,000 after acquiring an additional 23,260 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in Papa John's International in the 4th quarter valued at about $371,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Papa John's International by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 35,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 9,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter.

Papa John's International Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.41. The company had a trading volume of 619,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,754. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.29. Papa John's International, Inc. has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $60.75.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company 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%. Papa John's International's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PZZA. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 research report on Friday, August 15th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set 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 reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John's International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.33.

Papa John's International 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.