Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.25.

A number of research firms have 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Papa Johns International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $1.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,700,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,801. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $38.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.53. Papa Johns International has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $518.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Papa Johns International will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.30%.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 7,045.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 22,579 shares of the company's stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 22,263 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in Papa Johns International by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 5,456 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Papa Johns International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 101,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,158,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Papa Johns International by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 159,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,531,000 after buying an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns 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.