Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Cut to Sector Weight at KeyCorp

KeyCorp downgraded shares of Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Papa Johns International’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.61 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.38 EPS.

PZZA has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Papa Johns International from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Stock Performance

Shares of PZZA opened at $47.32 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.19. Papa Johns International has a 52 week low of $39.90 and a 52 week high of $78.67.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Papa Johns International will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 19.8% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,581,000 after buying an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth about $266,000. Dean Investment Associates LLC acquired a new position in Papa Johns International in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,936,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Papa Johns International in the third quarter valued at about $621,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 47.9% during the third quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 10,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter.

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.