Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY)’s share price reached 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.41.

PLAY has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price target (down from $56.00) on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 report on Wednesday. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.38.

Insider Activity at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

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

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Stock Down 13.3 %

The company has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 2.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.54, a current ratio of 0.24 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $557.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.65 million. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a return on equity of 51.75% and a net margin of 5.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.