Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Sets New 1-Year Low at $49.23

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $49.23 and last traded at $49.41, with a volume of 539458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PZZA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark dropped their price target on Papa John’s International from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.36.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.32.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $513.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $544.46 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.78%.

Insider Transactions at Papa John’s International

In other news, CEO Ravi Thanawala purchased 1,900 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Papa John’s International news, CEO Ravi Thanawala purchased 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,039,797.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,228.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PZZA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,769,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,074,000 after buying an additional 166,246 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 5.7% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,724,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,850,000 after purchasing an additional 93,325 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,698,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,502,000 after purchasing an additional 192,149 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 944,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,878,000 after purchasing an additional 21,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 932,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,124,000 after buying an additional 42,867 shares during the period.

Papa John’s 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.