Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Papa Johns International traded as low as $37.70 and last traded at $38.45, with a volume of 220009 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on PZZA. KeyCorp cut shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.82.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PZZA. Irth Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,883,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the third quarter worth $286,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 29,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the third quarter valued at about $312,000. Finally, Bares Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $363,000.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.32.

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

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

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.