Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Short Interest Up 24.4% in November

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,280,000 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the October 31st total of 3,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 13.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Papa Johns International Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:PZZA traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $49.39. The stock had a trading volume of 235,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,146. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.19. Papa Johns International has a 12-month low of $39.90 and a 12-month high of $78.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.17.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Papa Johns International will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa Johns International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 87,801 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,812,000 after acquiring an additional 176,470 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 985,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,280,000 after acquiring an additional 40,996 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,042,000 after purchasing an additional 281,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 366.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 228,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,743,000 after purchasing an additional 179,653 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp lowered Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.82.

Papa Johns 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.