Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Trading Up 5.6% – Time to Buy?

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) rose 5.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.69 and last traded at $45.77. Approximately 143,847 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,691,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PZZA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Northcoast Research upgraded Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Papa Johns International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Stock Down 0.8 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.71 and a 200 day moving average of $46.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Irth Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,883,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 142.3% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 13,297 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 85.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,237,000 after buying an additional 87,801 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 389,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,011,000 after buying an additional 59,404 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.