Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Coverage Initiated at Stephens

Stock analysts at Stephens started coverage on shares of Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.40% from the company’s previous close.

PZZA has been the topic of several other reports. KeyCorp cut their price objective 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Friday, January 5th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Papa John’s International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “sell” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.10.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA stock opened at $61.78 on Friday. Papa John’s International has a 1 year low of $60.66 and a 1 year high of $86.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.71.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.15 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.84% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Papa John’s International will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Papa John’s International

In related news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total transaction of $202,626.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,228.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa John’s International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Papa John’s International by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Papa John’s International by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 17,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 38.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter.

About Papa John’s International

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.