Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Trading 17.7% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 17.7% intraday to about $38.31 on Wednesday after heavy trading, up from a prior close of $32.54.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a $45 consensus price target after several firms trimmed their objectives and left ratings ranging from Buy to Hold.
• Papa John's posted a slight EPS beat ($0.34 vs. $0.33) while revenue fell 6.1% year-over-year, the company has a thin net margin (1.44%) and it pays a high-yield dividend (4.8%) with a payout ratio of 206.74%.

Shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) were up 17.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.13 and last traded at $38.3080. Approximately 500,243 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 1,195,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PZZA. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Papa John's International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Papa John's International in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Papa John's International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John's International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Papa John's International Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.73, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.64.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $498.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 1.44%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Papa John's International's payout ratio is currently 206.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John's International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John's International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,699,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in Papa John's International by 271.6% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 690,299 shares of the company's stock worth $33,783,000 after purchasing an additional 504,514 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Papa John's International during the fourth quarter worth $12,969,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Papa John's International during the fourth quarter worth $12,767,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Papa John's International by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,950,000 after purchasing an additional 318,816 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John's International Company Profile

Papa John's International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John's restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John's centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.

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