Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.3333.

PZZA has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $52.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research report on Monday, August 11th. 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.

Papa John's International Price Performance

Shares of PZZA opened at $47.51 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.93 and a 200 day moving average of $43.39. Papa John's International has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $60.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Papa John's International will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 28.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 27,287 shares of the company's stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 5,967 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Papa John's International during the second quarter worth about $436,000. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Papa John's International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Papa John's International by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 111,617 shares of the company's stock worth $5,463,000 after purchasing an additional 8,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Papa John's International by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,170 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John's International Company 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.

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