Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

PZZA has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Papa John’s International Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PZZA opened at $30.37 on Friday. Papa John’s International has a 52-week low of $29.55 and a 52-week high of $55.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.42. The company has a market capitalization of $999.17 million, a PE ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.12.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). Papa John’s International had a net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 10.71%. The firm had revenue of $478.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 19.6% during the fourth 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,201,000 after acquiring an additional 161,906 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,657,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,816,000 after acquiring an additional 42,810 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,108,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,380,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Papa John’s International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 874,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,104,000 after acquiring an additional 26,190 shares in the last quarter.

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.