Short Interest in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Increases By 18.5%

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,160,000 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the December 31st total of 3,510,000 shares. Approximately 12.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 2nd quarter worth $245,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 366.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 228,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,743,000 after acquiring an additional 179,653 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Papa Johns International by 168.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International during the second quarter worth about $1,329,000.

Papa Johns International Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.82. 1,494,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,841. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.19. Papa Johns International has a 52-week low of $35.28 and a 52-week high of $76.91.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. Papa Johns International’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Papa Johns International will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PZZA. Bank of America lifted their target price on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

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.