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Analysts at Nomura on Wednesday lowered their same-store-sales outlook for Papa John's International's (PZZA) third-quarter while maintaining their "Neutral" rating on its stock and $78 price target.
The firm lowered its same-store-outlook for Papa John's third-quarter by 50 basis points in North America company-owned stores, equating to a rise of 2.5%. Nomura lowered its outlook for North American franchised outlets by 100 basis points, or an increase of 2%. And it lowered its outlook for International by 200 basis points or an uptick of 3%.
But the revisions are not substantial enough to impact its existing third-quarter earnings per share estimate of 62 cents.
The primary reasons for the lowered outlooks are overall "sluggishness" in the domestic restaurant chain sector, and its standing as the official pizza of the National Football League, which is currently experiencing TV ratings declines.
The Nielsen company said Tuesday the weekend's nationally televised games averaged 13.8 million viewers, falling from 14.8 million the week before. Opening week recorded 16.3 million viewers and the second week had 15.8 million.