Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Earns Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $62.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday. KeyCorp cut Papa Johns International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PZZA traded down $2.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,031,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,321. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International has a fifty-two week low of $39.90 and a fifty-two week high of $78.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $50.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.14.

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

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Papa Johns International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Papa Johns International by 88.1% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company's stock worth $123,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,485 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,170,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,991,000 after buying an additional 446,477 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,586,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 30.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company's stock worth $57,042,000 after acquiring an additional 281,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.3% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company's stock worth $58,812,000 after acquiring an additional 176,470 shares during the period.

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.