Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) Short Interest Update

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,320,000 shares, a decrease of 25.9% from the October 31st total of 8,530,000 shares. Approximately 16.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Benchmark started coverage on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.57.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Stock Up 4.5 %

PLAY traded up $1.70 on Friday, hitting $39.32. 750,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,098,037. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.75. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a twelve month low of $29.31 and a twelve month high of $69.82.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.28. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a return on equity of 51.75% and a net margin of 5.10%. The firm had revenue of $557.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

In related news, CEO Christopher Daniel Morris purchased 14,912 shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.67 per share, for a total transaction of $502,087.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,823,128.49. This trade represents a 21.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eminence Capital LP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing 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 second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,225,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $48,767,000 after buying an additional 626,497 shares in the last quarter. Sea Cliff Partners Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 90.8% in the second quarter. Sea Cliff Partners Management LP now owns 515,043 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,504,000 after buying an additional 245,043 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 170,286 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,191,000. 91.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.