Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Position Raised by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 363,253 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,416 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.11% of Papa Johns International worth $14,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PZZA. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,711 shares of the company's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,639 shares of the company's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter worth about $1,114,000. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter worth about $479,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PZZA. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.25.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.34. 1,427,580 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,243,074. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.16 and a 12 month high of $60.75.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $518.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $512.48 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. Papa Johns International's payout ratio is 78.30%.

Papa Johns 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.