Zacks Research Weighs in on Papa Johns International, Inc.’s Q1 2026 Earnings (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Papa Johns International in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 15th. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.86 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.87. The consensus estimate for Papa Johns International’s current full-year earnings is $2.27 per share.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $507.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.13 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 3.25% and a negative return on equity of 19.85%. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PZZA. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $64.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $58.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA opened at $53.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.20. Papa Johns International has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $78.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.30.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 81.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. CWM LLC raised its stake in Papa Johns International by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $156,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 379.7% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624 shares during the last quarter.

About Papa Johns 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.