Analysts Set Denny’s Co. (NASDAQ:DENN) Price Target at $7.75

Shares of Denny’s Co. (NASDAQ:DENN) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Denny’s from $10.00 to $8.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Denny’s from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Denny’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Denny’s from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Denny’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th.

Denny’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DENN opened at $3.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.82. Denny’s has a 52-week low of $3.16 and a 52-week high of $8.83. The company has a market cap of $177.03 million, a P/E ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 1.87.

Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Denny’s had a negative return on equity of 50.01% and a net margin of 4.77%. As a group, analysts forecast that Denny’s will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen C. Dunn acquired 9,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.08 per share, for a total transaction of $49,860.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $577,423.28. The trade was a 9.45 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kelli Valade bought 9,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.13 per share, for a total transaction of $49,761.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 192,806 shares in the company, valued at $989,094.78. This represents a 5.30 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 20,465 shares of company stock valued at $104,457. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DENN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Denny’s by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Denny’s by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 218,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Denny’s by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,175,986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Denny’s by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 759,837 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Denny’s by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,180,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Denny’s Company Profile

Denny’s Corp. engages in the operation of restaurants and franchised, and licensed restaurants. It operates through the Denny’s and Other segments. The Denny’s segment includes the results of all company and franchised and licensed Denny’s restaurants. The Other segment refers to the results of all company and franchise restaurants.