Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Hits New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Papa Johns International traded as low as $37.70 and last traded at $38.45, with a volume of 220009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on PZZA. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.82.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 66.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter valued at $156,000.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 5.0 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.88 and its 200 day moving average is $47.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.11%.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.