Papa Johns International’s (PZZA) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. 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. KeyCorp lowered Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA stock opened at $45.35 on Thursday. Papa Johns International has a 52 week low of $35.28 and a 52 week high of $76.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.76.

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 dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Irth Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter worth $66,883,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Papa Johns International by 88.1% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,485 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 117.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,118,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,933,000 after acquiring an additional 603,650 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,328,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 131.4% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 576,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,670,000 after purchasing an additional 327,300 shares during the last quarter.

About Papa Johns 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.