Papa John's International (PZZA) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. In addition to classic and specialty pizza recipes, the company offers sides such as garlic knots, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and desserts including chocolate chip and cinnamon pull-aparts. Many locations also feature regional and seasonal offerings tailored to local tastes and preferences.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s has built its reputation on a “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.” philosophy, emphasizing fresh dough made from high-gluten flour, processed in on-site commissaries to ensure consistency. Over the years, the company has invested in digital ordering platforms, loyalty programs and delivery logistics to improve customer convenience and operational efficiency. Papa John’s continues to pursue growth through new market development, franchise partnerships and ongoing menu innovation.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $51.83 to $53.37
• 50-Day Range: $41.59 to $53.33
• 52-Week Range: $30.16 to $60.75
• Volume: 955,800 shs
• Average Volume: 1.59 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.73 billion
• P/E Ratio: 23.42
• Dividend Yield: 3.48%
• Price Target: $49.78
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Papa John's International Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Papa John's International scored higher than 25% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 181st out of 215 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Papa John's International has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.23, and is based on 4 buy ratings, 8 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Downside Risk

Papa John's International has a consensus price target of $49.78, representing about 5.9% downside from its current price of $52.92.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Papa John's International has been the subject of 8 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 9.13%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Papa John's International are expected to grow by 9.13% in the coming year, from $2.19 to $2.39 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Papa John's International is 23.42, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 40.53.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Papa John's International is 23.42, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 17.71.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Papa John's International has a PEG Ratio of 4.49. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

13.42% of the float of Papa John's International has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Papa John's International has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.4.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Papa John's International has recently increased by 11.00%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Yield

Papa John's International pays a meaningful dividend of 3.48%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Papa John's International has only been increasing its dividend for 4 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Papa John's International is 81.42%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on EPS estimates, Papa John's International will have a dividend payout ratio of 76.99% in the coming year. This indicates that Papa John's International may not be able to sustain their current dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

13.42% of the float of Papa John's International has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Papa John's International has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.4.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Papa John's International has recently increased by 11.00%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• News Sentiment: -0.02

News Sentiment

Papa John's International has a news sentiment score of -0.02. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.65 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 14 news articles for Papa John's International this week, compared to 8 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 7 people have searched for PZZA on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -70% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

5 people have added Papa John's International to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Papa John's International insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.30% of the stock of Papa John's International is held by insiders.

PZZA Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have PZZA shares performed this year?

Papa John's International's stock was trading at $41.07 at the beginning of the year. Since then, PZZA stock has increased by 28.9% and is now trading at $52.92.

How were Papa John's International's earnings last quarter?

Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August, 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Papa John's International's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Papa John's International's major shareholders?

Papa John's International's top institutional investors include Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. (4.93%), Gradient Investments LLC (0.83%), Venture Visionary Partners LLC (0.31%) and Moody National Bank Trust Division (0.14%). Insiders that own company stock include Ravi Thanawala and Laurette T Koellner.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Papa John's International?

Shares of PZZA stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Papa John's International own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Papa John's International investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Humana (HUM), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR), AUO (AUOTY) and The RMR Group (RMR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/07/2025
• Record date for 8/29 Dividend: 8/18/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 8/29 Dividend: 8/18/2025
• Dividend Payable: 8/29/2025
• Today: 10/23/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/06/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: RETAIL - RESTRNTS
• Sub-Industry: Restaurants
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:PZZA
• Previous Symbol: NASDAQ:PZZA
• CIK: 901491
• Web: www.papajohns.com
• Phone: (502) 261-7272
• Fax: 502-266-2925
• Employees: 11,400
• Year Founded: 1984

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Papa John's International: $49.78
• High Price Target: $60.00
• Low Price Target: $42.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -5.9%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.23
• Research Coverage: 13 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.26
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 23.42
• Forward P/E Ratio: 24.16
• P/E Growth: 4.49
• Net Income: $83.49 million
• Net Margins: 3.58%
• Pretax Margin: 4.89%
• Return on Equity: -14.42%
• Return on Assets: 6.78%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 0.82
• Quick Ratio: 0.69

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $2.06 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.84
• Cash Flow: $4.48 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 11.81
• Book Value: ($12.69) per share
• Price / Book: -4.17

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 32,760,000
• Free Float: 32,332,000
• Market Cap: $1.73 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.10