Analysts Set Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Target Price at $82.10

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.10.

PZZA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, January 5th.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

NASDAQ PZZA opened at $62.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.47. Papa John’s International has a 12 month low of $60.24 and a 12 month high of $86.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.15 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Papa John’s International

In other Papa John’s International news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 0.9% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 17,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 38.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period.

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.