Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Short Interest Up 46.5% in February

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,510,000 shares, a growth of 46.5% from the January 31st total of 3,760,000 shares. Approximately 17.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

Shares of PZZA opened at $46.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. Papa Johns International has a one year low of $35.28 and a one year high of $72.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.76.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.02%.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Papa Johns International by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Papa Johns International by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Papa Johns International by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

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.