Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,203 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Papa Johns International were worth $8,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at $156,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PZZA. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of Papa Johns International stock opened at $47.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.78 and a 200-day moving average of $48.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.19. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.90 and a 52-week high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its 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. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 64.11%.

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.