Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives "Overweight" Rating from Stephens

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by investment analysts at Stephens in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $75.00 price target on the stock. Stephens' price target points to a potential upside of 40.92% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PZZA. BTIG Research lowered Papa John's International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Friday, March 1st. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Papa John's International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.60.

Papa John's International Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of Papa John's International stock traded down $3.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $53.22. 3,880,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 826,761. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.54 and a 200-day moving average of $69.11. Papa John's International has a 1 year low of $52.07 and a 1 year high of $86.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $571.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.15 million. Papa John's International had a net margin of 3.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. Papa John's International's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Papa John's International will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Papa John's International

In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the company's 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 owns 18,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Papa John's International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Papa John's International in the 3rd quarter worth about $102,786,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Papa John's International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,204,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Papa John's International by 11.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,644 shares of the company's stock worth $237,381,000 after acquiring an additional 353,832 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 889,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 232,177 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 5,031.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 197,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,439,000 after acquiring an additional 193,161 shares in the last quarter.

Papa John's International Company Profile

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.