AlphaQuest LLC Sells 2,114 Shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its stake in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 45.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,522 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,114 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Papa John’s International were worth $104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PZZA. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 564.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 26,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 22,919 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 591,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,310,000 after acquiring an additional 15,513 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 5,248 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 363,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,919,000 after acquiring an additional 32,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 149,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,148,000 after acquiring an additional 23,260 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Papa John’s International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.33.

Papa John’s International Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $47.62 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.16 and a 12-month high of $60.75.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $529.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $515.48 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.42%.

About Papa John’s International

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.