Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $25.49, but opened at $26.32. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment shares last traded at $26.90, with a volume of 476,790 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Kevin M. Sheehan acquired 37,735 shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.48 per share, for a total transaction of $961,487.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,542,000.28. This trade represents a 37.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLAY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $51.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $59.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. 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 research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.38.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.94.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.28. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a net margin of 3.88% and a return on equity of 44.22%. The firm had revenue of $557.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

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. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 3rd quarter worth $121,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the third quarter worth $144,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 22,338.9% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,039 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021 shares during the period. 91.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.