Atlas Brown Inc. Buys 546 Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,453 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the quarter. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Papa Johns International were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Irth Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,883,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Papa Johns International by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 87,801 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,812,000 after purchasing an additional 176,470 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 985,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,280,000 after purchasing an additional 40,996 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,399,000 after purchasing an additional 28,883 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 3.7 %

PZZA stock traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,549,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,959. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.59 and its 200-day moving average is $47.19. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.25 and a 12 month high of $78.67. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PZZA. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp downgraded Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.82.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.