Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Stephens has raised the price target for Papa John's International from $50.00 to $52.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating for the stock, which indicates a potential upside of 18.18% from its current price.
• Despite the positive outlook from Stephens, several other research firms have lowered their price targets, with Stifel Nicolaus setting a lower target of $38.00 and maintaining a "hold" rating on the stock.
• Papa John's reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.41, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.34, and showed a revenue increase of 4.2% year-over-year.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Stephens from $50.00 to $52.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Stephens' price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.04% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Papa John's International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.38.

Papa John's International Price Performance

Shares of PZZA stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.32. The stock had a trading volume of 861,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 927,764. Papa John's International has a twelve month low of $30.16 and a twelve month high of $60.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.13.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Papa John's International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. The business had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $515.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Papa John's International will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John's International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 117.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 49,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 26,505 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 119.6% in the 1st quarter. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC now owns 92,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 50,260 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Papa John's International by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,825,000 after purchasing an additional 18,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the 1st quarter valued at $509,000.

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.