Shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) were down 6.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $52.78 and last traded at $53.29. Approximately 361,001 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 787,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.13.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark decreased their target price on Papa John's International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Papa John's International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BTIG Research cut shares of Papa John's International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Papa John's International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.60.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Papa John's International
Papa John's International Price Performance
The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $65.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16.
Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.15 million. Papa John's International had a net margin of 3.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.
Papa John's International Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Papa John's International's payout ratio is currently 74.80%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of Papa John's International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa John's International
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Papa John's International by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its position in Papa John's International by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Papa John's International by 5.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Papa John's International by 6.7% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company's stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT grew its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 6.9% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,994 shares of the company's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter.
About Papa John's International
(
Get Free Report)
Papa John's International, Inc operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.
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