Irth Capital Management LP Invests $66.88 Million in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Irth Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Papa Johns International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,628,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,883,000. Papa Johns International accounts for 100.0% of Irth Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PZZA. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Papa Johns International by 36.0% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 102,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,803,000 after purchasing an additional 27,059 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Papa Johns International by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 103,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in Papa Johns International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $461,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Papa Johns International by 12.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cowen AND Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Papa Johns International in the second quarter valued at about $32,736,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PZZA shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on Papa Johns International from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Papa Johns International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp lowered Papa Johns International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Papa Johns International from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eight equities 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.82.

Papa Johns International Price Performance

PZZA stock traded up $1.64 on Thursday, hitting $42.71. 449,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,009,377. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.16. Papa Johns International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.25 and a twelve month high of $78.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $47.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.50.

Papa Johns International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $506.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.28 million. Papa Johns International had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Papa Johns International, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Papa Johns International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Papa Johns International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.11%.

Papa Johns International Company Profile

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.