Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.10.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PZZA. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

Insider Activity

In other Papa John’s International news, CEO Ravi Thanawala acquired 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.41 per share, with a total value of $99,579.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 8.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the second quarter valued at about $240,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 21.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 39,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 47.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 90,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,234,000 after buying an additional 28,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 16.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $40.93 on Monday. Papa John’s International has a 1 year low of $39.90 and a 1 year high of $86.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $513.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $544.46 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

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

Papa John’s International Company Profile

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.