Brokerages Set Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) PT at $38.50

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.50.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $42.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Papa John’s International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

PZZA opened at $34.21 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.38. Papa John’s International has a 1 year low of $29.55 and a 1 year high of $55.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $478.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.51 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 10.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Papa John’s International will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 221.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Papa John’s International by 32.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 4,705 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International during the first quarter worth about $600,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 25.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 310,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,762,000 after purchasing an additional 62,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 81.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 112,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,625,000 after purchasing an additional 50,536 shares in the last quarter.

About Papa John’s International

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.