Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $39.81 and last traded at $39.90, with a volume of 1149211 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PZZA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.94 and its 200 day moving average is $47.89.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business 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 earned $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,285,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,485 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,170,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,991,000 after buying an additional 446,477 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the second quarter valued at approximately $93,586,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Papa Johns International by 30.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,214,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,042,000 after acquiring an additional 281,399 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $58,812,000 after acquiring an additional 176,470 shares during the period.

About Papa Johns 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.