Denny's Co. (NASDAQ:DENN) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Denny's Co. (NASDAQ:DENN - Free Report) by 122.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,779 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 92,982 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.33% of Denny's worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Denny's by 2,820.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,665,893 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,854 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Denny's by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,665,680 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,077,000 after buying an additional 274,459 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $7,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Denny's by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 570,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,448,000 after buying an additional 126,850 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Denny's by 107.0% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 280,381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 144,900 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Denny's Stock Performance

Denny's stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.92. 182,266 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 898,112. The stock has a market cap of $201.53 million, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.87. Denny's Co. has a 52-week low of $2.85 and a 52-week high of $8.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $3.77 and its 200 day moving average is $5.37.

Denny's (NASDAQ:DENN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.14 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Denny's Co. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DENN. Wedbush lowered their price target on Denny's from $10.00 to $8.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Denny's from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Denny's from $7.00 to $6.25 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Denny's from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Denny's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Denny's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Denny's

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

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.