Papa Johns International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 8,857 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 223% compared to the average daily volume of 2,744 call options.

Papa Johns International Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ PZZA traded up $0.98 on Tuesday, hitting $41.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,221,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,377. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $78.67. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $48.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.54.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Papa Johns International will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio is 64.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 29,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Bares Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the third quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 19.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,473 shares of the company's stock worth $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PZZA. Bank of America increased their price target 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. KeyCorp lowered shares of Papa Johns International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Eight 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, Papa Johns International has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.