Papa John’s price target raised to $80 from $75 at KeyBanc

KeyBanc analyst Eric Gonzalez raised the firm’s price target on Papa John’s to $80 from $75 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares to reflect improving earnings power in the years ahead that is a direct result of the company’s “Back to Better 2.0” initiatives. The firm believes Papa John’s developed creative solutions to several legacy issues within the company’s system. And in doing so, KeyBanc thinks the company will successfully drive faster domestic unit growth, sales leverage, and improved operating margins while simultaneously helping improve four-wall profitability for its franchisees. While the firm trims its Q4 2023/2024 EPS to reflect international headwinds/store closures, it continues to expect earnings growth to accelerate significantly in 2024 and beyond.