Papa Johns International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 8,857 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 223% compared to the average daily volume of 2,744 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 66.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Papa Johns International by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the third quarter valued at about $156,000.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Papa Johns International stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.76. The stock had a trading volume of 425,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,049. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.58. Papa Johns International has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $78.67.

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. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The business had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Papa Johns International will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Papa Johns International’s payout ratio is 64.11%.

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.