Woodline Partners LP Invests $10.12 Million 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 acquired a new stake in Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 246,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,115,000. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.75% of Papa John's International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Papa John's International by 4,646.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 712 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 937.8% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 851 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 214.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 27.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the fourth quarter valued at $87,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Papa John's International Stock Performance

PZZA traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.01. 134,697 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,694. Papa John's International, Inc. has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $60.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.36.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $515.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.42%.

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.