Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,810,000 shares, a drop of 30.9% from the February 13th total of 5,510,000 shares. Currently, 11.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PZZA. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.67.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 225.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,331 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter worth $773,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Papa Johns International by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,096 shares of the company's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Papa Johns International in the third quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 85.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 87,801 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 515,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,808. Papa Johns International has a twelve month low of $35.28 and a twelve month high of $72.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.02%.

About Papa Johns International

Papa John's International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.