Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) Short Interest Down 25.9% in November

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) saw a significant 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. Currently, 16.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of PLAY stock traded up $1.70 on Friday, hitting $39.32. The stock had a trading volume of 750,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,098,037. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 2.13. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a twelve month low of $29.31 and a twelve month 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.75.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $560.65 million. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a return on equity of 51.75% and a net margin of 5.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

In other news, CEO Christopher Daniel Morris bought 14,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.67 per share, for a total transaction of $502,087.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,823,128.49. This trade represents a 21.63 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLAY. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the third quarter valued at $121,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 3rd quarter worth about $144,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 22,338.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,039 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 4,021 shares during the last quarter. 91.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.57.

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.