Analysts Set Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Price Target at $74.80

Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.80.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala purchased 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.41 per share, with a total value of $99,579.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,039,797.20. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter valued at $1,368,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Papa John’s International by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 889,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,838,000 after buying an additional 232,177 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Papa John’s International by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,381,000 after acquiring an additional 353,832 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Papa John’s International by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 146,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,158,000 after acquiring an additional 14,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 731.9% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 62,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,000 after acquiring an additional 54,949 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

PZZA stock opened at $46.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.11. Papa John’s International has a 52-week low of $46.20 and a 52-week high of $86.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.40.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $513.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $544.46 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Papa John’s International will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.78%.

About Papa John’s 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.