Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) Sets New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $59.00 to $45.00. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment traded as low as $28.20 and last traded at $28.21, with a volume of 735659 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.41.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark started coverage on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $51.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (down from $56.00) on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Daniel Morris bought 14,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.67 per share, for a total transaction of $502,087.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 83,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,823,128.49. This represents a 21.63 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin M. Sheehan purchased 37,735 shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $961,487.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,542,000.28. This represents a 37.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAY. Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 69.3% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,768,476 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $150,023,000 after buying an additional 1,542,154 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 104.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,225,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $48,767,000 after acquiring an additional 626,497 shares during the period. Sea Cliff Partners Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 90.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sea Cliff Partners Management LP now owns 515,043 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,504,000 after acquiring an additional 245,043 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 36.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 640,096 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,482,000 after acquiring an additional 170,286 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,191,000. 91.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Trading Up 7.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.94. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 2.13.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.28. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a return on equity of 44.22% and a net margin of 3.88%. The company had revenue of $557.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Company Profile

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc owns and operates entertainment and dining venues for adults and families. Its venues offer a menu of entrees and appetizers, as well as a selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages; and an assortment of entertainment attractions centered on playing games and watching live sports, and other televised events.