Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Hits New 12-Month Low at $60.24

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $60.24 and last traded at $60.65, with a volume of 30858 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “sell” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.10.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.57.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $571.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Papa John’s International’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PZZA. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 396.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Cutler Group LLC CA bought a new stake in Papa John’s International in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Papa John’s International during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Papa John’s International during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000.

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.