Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) - What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Hold” consensus on Dave & Buster’s, with two sell, five hold and two buy ratings; the average 12-month price target is $17.33.
• Insiders recently bought shares, including a 12,000-share purchase by director Nathaniel Lipman and 4,000 shares bought by CFO Cory Hatton. Institutional investors own approximately 91.45% of the stock.
• PLAY traded at $7.60, near its 12-month low of $6.26, after the company missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations. Analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $1.58 per share.

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

A number of research firms have weighed in on PLAY. Zacks Research cut shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company.

Insider Transactions at Dave & Buster's Entertainment

In other news, Director Nathaniel Lipman acquired 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.78 per share, for a total transaction of $81,360.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 30,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $208,247.70. This represents a 64.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Cory Hatton acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.50 per share, with a total value of $26,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 104,475 shares in the company, valued at $679,087.50. This represents a 3.98% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Dave & Buster's Entertainment

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLAY. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Dave & Buster's Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 1,547.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,464 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 4,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth $141,000. 91.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment Price Performance

PLAY stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.60. 2,120,730 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,033,531. 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 12-month low of $6.26 and a 12-month high of $22.10. The stock's 50 day moving average is $8.19 and its 200 day moving average is $10.31. The company has a market cap of $264.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 1.92.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.27) earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Dave & Buster's Entertainment will post -1.58 EPS for the current year.

About Dave & Buster's Entertainment

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc is an entertainment and dining company that operates venues combining arcade games, interactive attractions, sports viewing and casual food and beverage service. Its venues are designed for group entertainment, including family outings, birthday celebrations, corporate events and other social gatherings.

The company operates under the Dave & Buster's and Main Event brands. Dave & Buster's locations generally feature a large arcade with games that award redeemable prizes, along with sports bars, restaurant service and event spaces.

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