Denny's (NASDAQ:DENN) PT Lowered to $9.50

Denny's (NASDAQ:DENN - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Wedbush from $10.50 to $9.50 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Wedbush's price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on DENN. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Denny's from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Denny's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Denny's from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.75.

Denny's Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Denny's stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.07. 759,090 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,816. The firm has a market cap of $428.52 million, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.93. Denny's has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $12.53. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $8.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.51.

Denny's (NASDAQ:DENN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $115.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $115.67 million. Denny's had a net margin of 4.30% and a negative return on equity of 70.78%. Denny's's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Denny's will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John C. Miller sold 35,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.25, for a total transaction of $327,070.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 740,626 shares in the company, valued at $6,850,790.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Denny's

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fruth Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Denny's by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 26,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Denny's by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,546 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Denny's by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Denny's by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 93,023 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Denny's by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,482 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Denny's Company Profile

Denny's Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates franchised full-service restaurant chains under the Denny's and Keke's Breakfast Cafe brands in the United States and internationally. The company was formerly known as Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc and changed its name to Denny's Corporation in July 2002.