By Mark Kalinowski
Published on December 23, 2019 at 12:00 AM
We recently met with Papa John’s (PZZA; Buy) — including (1) President and CEO Rob Lynch, (2) CFO Joe Smith, and (3) VP Strategic Planning Steve Coke — in Louisville, Kentucky. We thank them for their time! Topics of interest that were asked about include culinary innovation, relations with franchisees, and why Mr. Lynch decided to leave his prior employer to become Papa John’s CEO. We maintain our Buy rating on PZZA, and note the following:
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By Mark Kalinowski
Published on November 6, 2019 at 12:00 AM
Earlier today, Papa John’s (PZZA; Buy) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.21, short of our $0.23 forecast and sell-side consensus (according to Consensus Metrix) of $0.22. The company’s full-year 2019 adjusted EPS target range stays at $1.00-$1.20. We keep our Q4E EPS projection unchanged at $0.35. Given that Q3 missed our EPS estimate by two cents, this brings down our full-year 2019E EPS forecast by two cents, to $1.15. Please note that as of this writing, sell-side consensus is at $1.13. (Our full-year 2020E and 2021E EPS estimates remain unchanged at $1.55 and $1.75, respectively.)
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By Mark Kalinowski
Published on August 27, 2019 at 12:00 AM
Earlier today, Papa John’s (PZZA) announced a CEO change, bringing in Rob Lynch — most recently President at privately-held Arby’s Restaurant Group — to be the new CEO. We upgrade the shares of PZZA to Buy (from Neutral) based on this switch, as we expect Mr. Lynch to be a catalyst for a greater pace of change at the company.
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