Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $50.79, but opened at $49.64. Papa Johns International shares last traded at $48.84, with a volume of 173,124 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp downgraded Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.82. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Seven Eight Capital LP raised its stake in Papa Johns International by 396.0% in the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 16,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 13,246 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,769,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,074,000 after buying an additional 166,246 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.3% in 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 buying an additional 176,470 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 40,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 281,399 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.