Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $39.81 and last traded at $39.90, with a volume of 1149211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PZZA. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp downgraded Papa Johns International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. Papa Johns International's payout ratio is 64.11%.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the second quarter valued at approximately $93,586,000. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company's stock worth $123,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,485 shares in the last quarter. Cowen AND Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the 2nd quarter worth $32,736,000. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 25.9% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,170,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,991,000 after purchasing an additional 446,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the third quarter valued at about $15,845,000.

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.