Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

PZZA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective 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 research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.82.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $93,586,000. Irth Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,883,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,485 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,170,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,991,000 after purchasing an additional 446,477 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,845,000.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 5.0 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a PEG 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 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 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.