Norden Group LLC Takes $252,000 Position in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA)

Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PZZA. Cutler Group LLC CA bought a new position in Papa John’s International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 539 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Papa John’s International by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Papa John’s International by 89.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Papa John’s International during the third quarter worth about $72,000.

Insider Activity at Papa John’s International

In other Papa John’s International news, Director Laurette T. Koellner sold 2,886 shares of Papa John’s International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.21, for a total value of $202,626.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,228.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Papa John’s International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PZZA opened at $60.95 on Thursday. Papa John’s International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.24 and a 52 week high of $86.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.16.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $571.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.15 million. Papa John’s International had a negative return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 3.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Papa John’s International, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on PZZA shares. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Papa John’s International from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Papa John’s International in a research note on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Papa John’s International from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Papa John’s International in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

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.