Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.25.

Several research analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Papa Johns International Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of PZZA opened at $39.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International has a 1 year low of $35.28 and a 1 year high of $68.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.41.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 73.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Papa Johns International in the third quarter valued at about $411,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 89.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 3,659 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 264.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 35,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 25,947 shares during the period.

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.