Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.82.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Papa Johns International Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Papa Johns International stock opened at $40.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Papa Johns International will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PZZA. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 85.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 87,801 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,812,000 after acquiring an additional 176,470 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 985,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,280,000 after acquiring an additional 40,996 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,042,000 after purchasing an additional 281,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,399,000 after purchasing an additional 28,883 shares during the last quarter.

About Papa Johns International

Papa John’s International, Inc operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John’s trademark in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.