Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $58.12

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $58.12 and last traded at $58.27, with a volume of 22434 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. Stephens assumed coverage on Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research cut Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The firm had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Papa John’s International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is 74.80%.

Insider Activity

In other Papa John’s International news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,603,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,705,000 after buying an additional 123,995 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,698,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,502,000 after acquiring an additional 192,149 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 7.0% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,411,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,275,000 after purchasing an additional 92,937 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 922,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,354,000 after purchasing an additional 55,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Papa John’s International by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 889,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,838,000 after buying an additional 232,177 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John’s 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.