Quest Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth $29,204,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,277,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 140.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,140,000 after buying an additional 12,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Papa John’s International

In other news, CEO Ravi Thanawala bought 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala acquired 1,900 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,039,797.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PZZA shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Papa John’s International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.36.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.62. 1,418,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,325,647. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.81 and a 52-week high of $86.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.89.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $513.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $544.46 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. Papa John’s International’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is 81.78%.

About Papa John’s International

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.