Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) Receives Market Perform Rating from William Blair

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by equities researchers at William Blair in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.38.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment stock opened at $25.49 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.54, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.24. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a one year low of $25.00 and a one year high of $69.82. The company has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 2.13.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $557.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.65 million. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 51.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin M. Sheehan acquired 37,735 shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $961,487.80. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,542,000.28. The trade was a 37.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Daniel Morris bought 14,912 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.67 per share, for a total transaction of $502,087.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,823,128.49. The trade was a 21.63 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLAY. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 1,931.4% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 36,793 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 2.9% in the second quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 1,035,106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,208,000 after purchasing an additional 29,627 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 206,535 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,222,000 after purchasing an additional 51,022 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,191,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 91.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.