Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.33.

Several research firms have weighed in on PZZA. KeyCorp cut Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Monday, January 13th.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $36.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.77. Papa Johns International has a fifty-two week low of $35.28 and a fifty-two week high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Papa Johns International will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 64.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 66.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 27.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 10,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000.

About Papa Johns International

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.