Investors await KKR’s plans

Article Excerpt

DAVE & BUSTER’S ENTERTAINMENT INC. $46 is okay to hold. The stock (Nasdaq symbol PLAY; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 38.6 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; www.daveandbusters.com) gives you a stake in 135 entertainment and dining venues in the U.S. and Canada. All Dave & Buster’s locations are company owned. The stock jumped 14% in January 2020 on news that private equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. (New York symbol KKR) has acquired a 6.3% stake in the company. That bodes well for investor gains. Dave & Buster’s went public in October 2014 at $16.00 a share and got as high as $69 in June 2017. However, investors have seen their shares move sideways for the past two years due to strong competition from other casual-dining chains. KKR has yet to say how exactly it wants Dave & Buster’s to add investor value. However, the company recently announced a new plan to fuel its growth, including doubling its store count. It…