Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Short Interest Down 31.8% in November

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,920,000 shares, a decline of 31.8% from the November 15th total of 4,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 9.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the second quarter valued at $93,586,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Papa Johns International by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,485 shares during the period. Cowen AND Company LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International during the second quarter valued at about $32,736,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased 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 worth $101,991,000 after purchasing an additional 446,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the third quarter valued at approximately $15,845,000.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA traded down $2.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,031,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,322. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.12. Papa Johns International has a 12 month low of $39.90 and a 12 month high of $78.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Papa Johns International will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PZZA shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday. KeyCorp lowered Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.