Short Interest in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) Decreases By 14.3%

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,170,000 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the May 31st total of 7,200,000 shares. Approximately 15.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PLAY. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $78.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $66.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.71.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of PLAY opened at $39.81 on Friday. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a twelve month low of $33.07 and a twelve month high of $69.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.41.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 12th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.44). Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 48.50%. The firm had revenue of $588.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $615.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Griffith sold 5,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total value of $341,160.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,611.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP John Mulleady sold 42,824 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.58, for a total transaction of $2,851,221.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 57,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,803,848.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Griffith sold 5,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total transaction of $341,160.71. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,611.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLAY. Boulder Hill Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth $2,477,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth $1,102,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,482,502 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $166,166,000 after acquiring an additional 116,402 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth $910,000. Finally, Wolf Hill Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth $72,730,000. 91.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

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.