Penn Capital Management Company LLC Invests $1.79 Million in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 43,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,785,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Papa Johns International at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Long Focus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,393,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 6,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,405 shares of the company's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 85.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,182 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 2,855 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PZZA. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.00.

Papa Johns International Trading Up 0.2 %

PZZA traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $33.77. The stock had a trading volume of 337,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,753. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.25. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.16 and a fifty-two week high of $62.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.17 and a 200-day moving average of $43.70.

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.