Great Hill Capital LLC Takes $5.84 Million Position in Papa John’s International, Inc. $PZZA

Great Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 151,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,843,000. Papa John’s International makes up 0.6% of Great Hill Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its position in Papa John’s International by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 13,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,657,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,816,000 after purchasing an additional 42,810 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of Papa John’s International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,336,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PZZA. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Papa John’s International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Stephens dropped their price target on Papa John’s International from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Papa John’s International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Papa John’s International Trading Up 5.6%

PZZA stock opened at $36.94 on Thursday. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a one year low of $29.55 and a one year high of $55.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 41.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.18.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 1.44% and a negative return on equity of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $498.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa John’s International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Papa John’s International’s payout ratio is presently 206.74%.

Papa John’s International Profile

Papa John’s International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John’s restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John’s centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.