Heartland Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,500 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $6,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Papa John’s International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,699,000. Great Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,843,000. Willis Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,336,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in Papa John’s International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,374,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Papa John’s International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,105,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Papa John’s International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Papa John’s International from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Papa John’s International from $42.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Papa John’s International from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.50.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $31.73 on Thursday. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.55 and a 1 year high of $55.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.86. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 221.69%.

Papa John’s International Profile

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.