Papa John’s International Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 43,448 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,328% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,042 put options.

Papa John’s International Price Performance

Shares of PZZA opened at $47.62 on Friday. Papa John’s International has a one year low of $46.81 and a one year high of $86.38. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.89.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $513.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $544.46 million. Papa John’s International had a net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 19.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Papa John’s International will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Papa John’s International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Papa John’s International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PZZA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised Papa John’s International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush dropped their price target on Papa John’s International from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Papa John’s International from $77.00 to $58.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Papa John’s International from $78.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Papa John’s International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Papa John’s International

In other news, CEO Ravi Thanawala acquired 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,039,797.20. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Ravi Thanawala purchased 1,900 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.41 per share, for a total transaction of $99,579.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,039,797.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,228.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Papa John’s International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 396.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Cutler Group LLC CA bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Papa John’s International by 277.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Papa John’s International by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter.

Papa John’s 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.