Brokerages Set Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) PT at $71.10

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.10.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PZZA shares. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday, May 23rd.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

PZZA stock opened at $40.93 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.16. Papa John’s International has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $86.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.32.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $513.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $544.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala bought 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Cutler Group LLC CA acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Papa John’s International by 396.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. CWM LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth about $114,000.

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.