Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Short Interest Up 18.5% in January

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,160,000 shares, an increase of 18.5% from the December 31st total of 3,510,000 shares. Currently, 12.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Irth Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the fourth quarter worth about $66,883,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its position in Papa Johns International by 142.3% in the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 13,297 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 85.9% in the third 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 during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.3% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,091,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,812,000 after buying an additional 176,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 8.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 378,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,399,000 after buying an additional 28,883 shares during the period.

Papa Johns International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA traded up $0.25 on Monday, reaching $39.82. 1,494,367 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,841. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.46. Papa Johns International has a fifty-two week low of $35.28 and a fifty-two week high of $76.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.19.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a net margin of 4.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. Papa Johns International’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Papa Johns International will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is currently 64.11%.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of pizza delivery and carryout restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Company-owned Restaurants, North America Franchising, North America Commissaries, International Operations, and All Others. The Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants segment consists of retail sales of pizza and side items, breadsticks, cheese sticks, chicken poppers and wings, dessert items, and canned and bottled beverages.