Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Papa John’s International Call Options (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 9,858 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 144% compared to the average daily volume of 4,045 call options.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

PZZA stock opened at $36.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.33. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.15. Papa John’s International has a fifty-two week low of $29.55 and a fifty-two week high of $55.74.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $478.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.51 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 10.71%. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Papa John’s International will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 221.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PZZA. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa John’s International by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,947,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,950,000 after buying an additional 318,816 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Papa John’s International by 10.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,201,000 after buying an additional 161,906 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in Papa John’s International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,657,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,816,000 after buying an additional 42,810 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in Papa John’s International by 27.3% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,174,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,546,000 after acquiring an additional 251,560 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Papa John’s International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,380,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PZZA. Mizuho cut their target price on Papa John’s International from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Papa John’s International from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Papa John’s International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.50.

Papa John’s International Company Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.