Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Grows Stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,117,238 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Papa Johns International were worth $45,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PZZA. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Papa Johns International from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Papa Johns International from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Papa Johns International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.25.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

PZZA opened at $40.34 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.16 and a 1-year high of $60.75.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The company had revenue of $518.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $512.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.30%.

About Papa Johns International

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.