1,628,503 Shares in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Acquired by Irth Capital Management LP

Irth Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,628,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,883,000. Papa Johns International comprises about 100.0% of Irth Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Irth Capital Management LP owned about 4.99% of Papa Johns International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 88.1% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 25.9% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,170,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,991,000 after buying an additional 446,477 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,586,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 30.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,042,000 after acquiring an additional 281,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,812,000 after acquiring an additional 176,470 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

PZZA traded up $1.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $42.71. The stock had a trading volume of 449,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,377. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $78.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.50.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PZZA shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns 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.