Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) saw a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,320,000 shares, a decline of 25.9% from the October 31st total of 8,530,000 shares. Approximately 16.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

In related news, CEO Christopher Daniel Morris acquired 14,912 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.67 per share, with a total value of $502,087.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 83,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,823,128.49. This represents a 21.63 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 171.5% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 53,803 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 33,988 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the third quarter worth approximately $224,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the third quarter worth $47,000. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the third quarter valued at $511,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at $328,000. 91.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Stock Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ:PLAY traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.16. The stock had a trading volume of 399,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,560. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 2.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.10. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a 1-year low of $29.31 and a 1-year high of $69.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.54.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 5.10% and a return on equity of 51.75%. The business had revenue of $557.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.65 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PLAY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.57.

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.