Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $17.33 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Nine brokerages give Dave & Buster’s a consensus “Hold” rating—two Sell, five Hold and two Buy—with an average 12-month price target of $17.33.
• Recent results missed expectations: The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.27 per share versus analysts’ expected profit of $0.19, while revenue of $544.1 million also came in below forecasts and fell 2.4% year over year.
• Company insiders purchased shares: A director bought 12,000 shares and the CFO bought 4,000 shares in September, at average prices of $6.78 and $6.50, respectively.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.33.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $22.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. UBS Group lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, September 15th. 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 Down 1.6%

NASDAQ PLAY opened at $8.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $280.74 million, a PE ratio of -3.14 and a beta of 1.93. Dave & Buster's Entertainment has a one year low of $6.26 and a one year high of $22.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $7.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.25. 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 (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $544.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.83 million. Dave & Buster's Entertainment had a negative net margin of 4.26% and a negative return on equity of 51.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Dave & Buster's Entertainment will post -1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dave & Buster's Entertainment

In other news, Director Nathaniel Lipman bought 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.78 per share, for a total transaction of $81,360.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 30,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $208,247.70. The trade was a 64.12% 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, CFO Cory Hatton purchased 4,000 shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.50 per share, with a total value of $26,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $679,087.50. The trade was a 3.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dave & Buster's Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLAY. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,725,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,509,752 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,351,000 after buying an additional 468,174 shares during the last quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $15,468,694. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 200.7% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 537,254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,125,000 after buying an additional 358,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saba Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 19.4% during the first quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 382,606 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,144,000 after buying an additional 62,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.45% of the company's stock.

About Dave & Buster's Entertainment

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. operates entertainment and dining venues under the Dave & Buster's and Main Event brands. Its locations combine arcade games, prize redemption, sports viewing and other interactive attractions with full-service restaurants and bars. The company's venues offer a range of video, arcade and skill-based games, as well as group entertainment options for parties, corporate events and other gatherings. Food and beverage offerings typically include American-style menu items, alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, and event packages.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.