Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, with six hold, two buy, and one sell rating among nine brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $17.33.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.27 per share, missing the $0.19 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 2.4% year over year to $544.1 million, below expectations.
• PLAY opened at $6.79 and remains under financial pressure, with a $6.45–$22.10 52-week range, a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.07, and negative net margin and return on equity. A company director nevertheless purchased 12,000 shares at approximately $6.78 each.

Shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.3333.

PLAY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Zacks Research raised Dave & Buster's Entertainment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment stock opened at $6.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.07, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Dave & Buster's Entertainment has a 1-year low of $6.45 and a 1-year high of $22.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $9.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.11. The company has a market capitalization of $236.50 million, a P/E ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.82.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.46). Dave & Buster's Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 51.87% and a negative net margin of 4.26%.The business had revenue of $544.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Dave & Buster's Entertainment will post -1.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nathaniel Lipman bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.78 per share, with a total value of $81,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 30,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $208,247.70. The trade was a 64.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dave & Buster's Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $182,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 200.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 537,254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,125,000 after buying an additional 358,588 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 289.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 131,168 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,495,000 after buying an additional 97,507 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $141,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.45% of the company's stock.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment Company Profile

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc NASDAQ: PLAY is an entertainment and dining company that operates venues combining arcade games, sports viewing, food and beverages, and social experiences. Its Dave & Buster's locations are designed for adults and families and offer interactive games, prize redemption, casual dining, full-service bars, and space for group events and parties.

The company also operates Main Event, a family entertainment brand offering bowling, arcade games, laser tag, virtual reality attractions, and food and beverages.

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