Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Papa Johns International traded as low as $37.70 and last traded at $38.45, with a volume of 220009 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PZZA. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 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, KeyCorp lowered shares of Papa Johns International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 66.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 646 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,114 shares of the company's stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $47.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.11%.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

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.