Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Trading Up 3.7%

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)’s share price was up 3.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $48.56 and last traded at $48.40. Approximately 273,252 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 895,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PZZA shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.30.

Papa John’s International Stock Up 4.5 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.11.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The firm had revenue of $513.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $544.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Papa John’s International news, CEO Ravi Thanawala acquired 1,900 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,039,797.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 5.6% during the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 6.7% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 6.6% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter.

About Papa John’s 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.