Analysts Set Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) PT at $74.80

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.80.

Several analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. 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 research report on Friday, May 10th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of 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.

Insider Transactions at Papa John’s International

In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala purchased 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.41 per share, with a total value of $99,579.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cutler Group LLC CA bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 396.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Papa John’s International by 277.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Papa John’s International by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter.

Papa John’s International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA opened at $46.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.85 and its 200 day moving average is $64.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.11. Papa John’s International has a 1-year low of $46.20 and a 1-year high of $86.38.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $544.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.78%.

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.