Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) Shares Up 8.2% - Should You Buy?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) shares traded up 8.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.18 and last traded at $33.81. 168,966 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,419,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $18.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Dave & Buster's Entertainment from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.83.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment Trading Up 2.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.69, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.26.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 10th. The restaurant operator reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $567.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.12 million. Dave & Buster's Entertainment had a return on equity of 40.67% and a net margin of 1.83%. The company's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Tarun Lal bought 8,060 shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.26 per share, with a total value of $251,955.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 8,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,955.60. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John Mulleady sold 5,931 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.79, for a total value of $194,477.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,395,214.50. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dave & Buster's Entertainment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eminence Capital LP raised its stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,845,454 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $112,249,000 after acquiring an additional 135,095 shares during the last quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 1,777,260 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,878,000 after acquiring an additional 476,662 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP raised its stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,349,236 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $23,706,000 after acquiring an additional 203,012 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 578,639 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,169,000 after acquiring an additional 10,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Dave & Buster's Entertainment by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 516,835 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $9,081,000 after acquiring an additional 44,911 shares during the last quarter. 91.45% of the stock is 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.