Verition Fund Management LLC Takes Position in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 133,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,207,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Papa Johns International by 27.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 2.5% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 12.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 16.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

PZZA stock opened at $49.83 on Monday. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $78.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.20.

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

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PZZA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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 price target on Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp lowered Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa Johns International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns International 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.