Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $42.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Papa John’s International from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA opened at $34.73 on Friday. Papa John’s International has a 52 week low of $29.55 and a 52 week high of $55.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.74 and a 200-day moving average of $37.27.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 1.37%.The firm had revenue of $478.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Skylands Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the first quarter valued at $65,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter valued at about $71,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 42.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth about $73,000.

Papa John’s International Company Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.