Irth Capital Management LP Takes $66.88 Million Position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Irth Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,628,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,883,000. Papa Johns International accounts for approximately 100.0% of Irth Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Irth Capital Management LP owned about 4.99% of Papa Johns International as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 646 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,331 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth $156,000.

Papa Johns International Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of Papa Johns International stock traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,627,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,377. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.25 and a 12-month high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $497.28 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Papa Johns International's payout ratio is 64.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PZZA. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp lowered Papa Johns International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Papa Johns International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.