Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.82.

A number of research firms have issued reports on PZZA. KeyCorp cut shares of Papa Johns International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America increased 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 reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

Shares of PZZA stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,135. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $50.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.01. Papa Johns International has a one year low of $39.81 and a one year high of $78.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Papa Johns International will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors 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 yield of 4.61%. Papa Johns International's payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 85.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company's stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 87,801 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company's stock worth $58,812,000 after purchasing an additional 176,470 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.3% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 985,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,280,000 after purchasing an additional 40,996 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Papa Johns International by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company's stock worth $57,042,000 after purchasing an additional 281,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company's stock worth $20,399,000 after buying an additional 28,883 shares in the last quarter.

About Papa Johns International

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.