Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives $45.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

PZZA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark decreased their target price on Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Stephens dropped their target price on Papa John’s International from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

Shares of PZZA stock opened at $34.33 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.59 and a 200 day moving average of $41.17. Papa John’s International has a 1 year low of $29.55 and a 1 year high of $55.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $498.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 1.44%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Papa John’s International will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 206.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the second quarter worth about $59,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Papa John’s International by 41.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period.

About Papa John’s International

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.