Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) Shares Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)’s share price fell 5.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.76 and last traded at $46.12. 497,060 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,753,567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PZZA shares. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Northcoast Research raised shares of Papa Johns International to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital reduced 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. KeyCorp lowered shares of Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Papa Johns International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.67.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.02%.

Institutional Trading of Papa Johns International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Papa Johns International by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,589,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,371,000 after buying an additional 27,912 shares during the period. Irth Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Papa Johns International in the fourth quarter worth $66,883,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Papa Johns International by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,500,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,635,000 after acquiring an additional 102,128 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in shares of Papa Johns International by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,358,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,812,000 after acquiring an additional 173,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Papa Johns International by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,156,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,506,000 after purchasing an additional 64,972 shares during the period.

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.