Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 4,071,310 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 145% from the previous session’s volume of 1,660,423 shares.The stock last traded at $52.18 and had previously closed at $43.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PZZA. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Papa Johns International from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp cut shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Papa Johns International from $73.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Papa Johns International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.43.

Papa Johns International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Papa Johns International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Papa Johns International by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 363,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,919,000 after buying an additional 32,416 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,589,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,371,000 after acquiring an additional 27,912 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 124.8% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 540,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,206,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Papa Johns International by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 4,452 shares during 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.