Short Interest in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) Grows By 18.5%

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,160,000 shares, an increase of 18.5% from the December 31st total of 3,510,000 shares. Approximately 12.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PZZA traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $39.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,494,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,841. Papa Johns International has a 52 week low of $35.28 and a 52 week high of $76.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.44.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $506.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Papa Johns International’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Papa Johns International will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter valued at $575,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Papa Johns International by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 136,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,626,000 after acquiring an additional 8,134 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Papa Johns International by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 159,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,531,000 after buying an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 101,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,158,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter.

Papa Johns 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.