StockNews.com Downgrades Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) to Sell

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PLAY. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $86.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $66.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $64.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.57.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLAY opened at $31.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.41, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.07. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a 1-year low of $29.31 and a 1-year high of $69.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 2.14.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.28. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 48.50%. The company had revenue of $557.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

In other news, CFO Darin Harper purchased 13,438 shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.78 per share, with a total value of $521,125.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,490.44. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLAY. Eminence Capital LP increased its position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 69.3% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,768,476 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $150,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,154 shares during the last quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,730,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its holdings in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 273.6% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 1,005,479 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,943,000 after purchasing an additional 736,345 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 104.7% in the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,225,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $48,767,000 after purchasing an additional 626,497 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the first quarter worth $31,300,000. 91.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

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.