Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Papa John’s International from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Papa John’s International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on 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 $31.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.12. Papa John’s International has a fifty-two week low of $29.55 and a fifty-two week high of $55.74.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). Papa John’s International had a net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 10.71%. The company had revenue of $478.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 221.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth $12,969,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,767,000. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,950,000 after buying an additional 318,816 shares during the last quarter. Gumshoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter worth about $10,034,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter worth about $8,729,000.

About Papa John’s International

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.