Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for PZZA Q3 Earnings

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) – Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2027 earnings estimates for Papa John’s International in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.32 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.42. Zacks Research has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Papa John’s International’s current full-year earnings is $1.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Papa John’s International’s Q4 2027 earnings at $0.39 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.55 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.38 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.74 EPS.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PZZA. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Papa John’s International from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA opened at $33.20 on Wednesday. Papa John’s International has a 52-week low of $29.55 and a 52-week high of $55.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.00, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.83 and its 200-day moving average is $34.78.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $478.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.51 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 1.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Papa John’s International by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 4,705 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the first quarter valued at $600,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 25.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 310,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,762,000 after purchasing an additional 62,103 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 81.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 112,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,625,000 after purchasing an additional 50,536 shares during the period.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 221.69%.

More Papa John’s International News

Here are the key news stories impacting Papa John’s International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: There were no clearly positive company-specific developments in the latest batch of news.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Zacks Research updated multiple future earnings estimates for Papa John’s, including slightly lower near-term and longer-term projections, but the revisions were mixed in size and mostly reflect caution rather than a new business announcement.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research maintained a Strong Sell view on the stock and trimmed FY2027 and FY2028 EPS estimates, adding to the negative sentiment already surrounding the shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America recently downgraded Papa John’s to Underperform and cut its price target to $34 from $42, citing the CFO’s departure, persistent competition, and a dimmer outlook for same-store sales growth. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Another Zacks Research note lowered Q2 2028 EPS to $0.38 from $0.49, Q1 2028 EPS to $0.47 from $0.48, Q4 2027 EPS to $0.39 from $0.46, Q3 2027 EPS to $0.32 from $0.42, and FY2028 EPS to $1.74 from $1.90, signaling reduced confidence in future profitability. Article Title

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.