Papa John's International (Nasdaq: PZZA) beat estimates by $0.04 last quarter and investors are hoping it can beat them again. The company will unveil its latest earnings Tuesday. The Company operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants and, in certain international markets, dine-in and restaurant-based delivery restaurants under the trademark "Papa John's."

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Papa John's International with four of six analysts rating it hold. While analysts still rate the stock a hold, they are a little more optimistic about it compared to three months ago.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $301.7 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 7.5% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.47 per share. Estimates range from $0.44 to $0.52.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock with 89% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars with 84.1% awarding it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Papa John's International and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 107 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Papa John's International, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
Papa John's International's income has fallen year over year by an average of 10.1%. Revenue has now gone up for three straight quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter

Q1

Q4

Q3

Q2

Gross Margin

23.4%

22.8%

21.8%

23.1%

Operating Margin

8.7%

7.7%

5.0%

8.1%

Net Margin

5.3%

4.9%

2.9%

4.7%

For all our Papa John's International-specific analysis, including earnings and beyond, add Papa John's International to My Watchlist.

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