Edgestream Partners L.P. Buys Shares of 27,225 Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,207,000. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 264.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 35,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 25,947 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 3,659 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 89.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Finally, Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PZZA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $58.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp cut Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $48.62 on Wednesday. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $78.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

About Papa Johns 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.