Short Interest in Denny’s Co. (NASDAQ:DENN) Grows By 34.9%

Denny’s Co. (NASDAQ:DENN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,210,000 shares, a growth of 34.9% from the January 31st total of 2,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Denny’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DENN opened at $4.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $234.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 2.02. Denny’s has a one year low of $4.51 and a one year high of $9.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.20.

Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Denny’s had a negative return on equity of 50.01% and a net margin of 4.77%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Denny’s will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DENN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Denny’s from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Denny’s from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Denny’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Denny’s from $10.00 to $8.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Denny’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen C. Dunn purchased 9,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.08 per share, for a total transaction of $49,860.20. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 113,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $577,423.28. This trade represents a 9.45 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kelli Valade purchased 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.13 per share, with a total value of $49,761.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 192,806 shares in the company, valued at $989,094.78. This represents a 5.30 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 20,465 shares of company stock valued at $104,457. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Denny’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners grew its stake in Denny’s by 2,820.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,665,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,854 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Denny’s by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,665,680 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,077,000 after acquiring an additional 274,459 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Denny’s by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,559,063 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,432,000 after acquiring an additional 267,694 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Denny’s by 73.2% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,381,120 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,908,000 after acquiring an additional 583,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Denny’s by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,265,381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,656,000 after acquiring an additional 251,874 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Denny’s

Denny’s Corp. engages in the operation of restaurants and franchised, and licensed restaurants. It operates through the Denny’s and Other segments. The Denny’s segment includes the results of all company and franchised and licensed Denny’s restaurants. The Other segment refers to the results of all company and franchise restaurants.