Ieq Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Papa John’s International by 4.6% in the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Papa John’s International by 27.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in Papa John’s International by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Papa John’s International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in Papa John’s International by 5.7% in the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 12,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period.

Papa John’s International Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $48.24 on Friday. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.16 and a 1 year high of $60.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.90 and a 200-day moving average of $43.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.15.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. The company had revenue of $529.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $515.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Papa John’s International’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio is 81.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.33.

Papa John’s International 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.