Papa John’s International Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 7,970 call options on the company. This is an increase of 242% compared to the average volume of 2,333 call options.

Insider Activity at Papa John’s International

In other news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa John’s International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 40,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,147 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 14.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Papa John’s International by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Papa John’s International by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 68,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,690,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.60.

Papa John’s International Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of PZZA opened at $53.22 on Friday. Papa John’s International has a 1-year low of $52.07 and a 1-year high of $86.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.84%. The business had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Papa John’s International will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is 74.80%.

Papa John’s International Company Profile

Papa John's International, Inc operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, and International Operations.