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

Shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading 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. The stock had previously closed at $29.41.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on PLAY. Gordon Haskett restated a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Wednesday. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded 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 decreased their price target 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. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin M. Sheehan bought 37,735 shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $961,487.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 139,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,542,000.28. This trade represents a 37.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Daniel Morris purchased 14,912 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 83,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,823,128.49. This represents a 21.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 1,931.4% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 36,793 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 171.5% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 53,803 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 33,988 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 462,191 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $15,738,000 after purchasing an additional 15,015 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 69.3% during the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,768,476 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $150,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,191,000. 91.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.02.

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