Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires New Shares in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International in the first quarter worth about $14,348,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,115,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 776,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,885,000 after purchasing an additional 199,840 shares during the period. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Papa John’s International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,640,000. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Papa John’s International by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 310,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,760,000 after buying an additional 130,622 shares during the period.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $42.25 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.86. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a one year low of $30.16 and a one year high of $55.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.58% and a negative return on equity of 14.42%. The company had revenue of $508.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $523.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Papa John’s International’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is 164.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Papa John’s International from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Papa John’s International in a report on Monday, August 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Papa John’s 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.