Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 31,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,168,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PZZA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Papa John’s International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $32.00.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $23.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $764.73 million, a P/E ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.13. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $55.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.30 and a 200-day moving average of $32.62.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $482.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.25 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 1.34%.The business’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International 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.