Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,040,000 shares, a drop of 15.1% from the June 30th total of 4,760,000 shares. Approximately 10.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $78.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $86.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Darin Harper acquired 13,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $38.78 per share, for a total transaction of $521,125.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,490.44. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLAY. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth about $72,730,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its holdings in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 273.6% during the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 1,005,479 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,943,000 after buying an additional 736,345 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,300,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,229,000. Finally, Sea Cliff Partners Management LP bought a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,155,000. 91.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Price Performance

PLAY stock opened at $36.60 on Tuesday. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a 12 month low of $33.07 and a 12 month high of $69.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 2.14.

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