Papa John’s International, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 31st, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.46 per share on Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th.

Papa John’s International has increased its dividend payment by an average of 25.1% per year over the last three years. Papa John’s International has a payout ratio of 66.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Papa John’s International to earn $2.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.2%.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of PZZA traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.95. The company had a trading volume of 40,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,237. Papa John’s International has a 1-year low of $39.90 and a 1-year high of $84.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.16.

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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Papa John’s International will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PZZA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $65.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Papa John’s International from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.70.

Insider Activity at Papa John’s International

In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala bought 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.41 per share, with a total value of $99,579.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,039,797.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.