Wedbush Lowers Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN) Price Target to $9.50

Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Wedbush from $10.50 to $9.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s price target points to a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Denny’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Denny’s from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Denny’s from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.75.

Denny’s Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ DENN opened at $8.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.81 and a 200-day moving average of $9.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.93. Denny’s has a 12 month low of $8.00 and a 12 month high of $12.53.

Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $115.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $115.67 million. Denny’s had a net margin of 4.30% and a negative return on equity of 70.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Denny’s will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Denny’s

In other news, Director John C. Miller sold 35,359 shares of Denny’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.25, for a total value of $327,070.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 740,626 shares in the company, valued at $6,850,790.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Denny’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Denny’s by 43.6% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 815,485 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,907,000 after purchasing an additional 247,470 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Denny’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $495,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in Denny’s by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 431,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,697,000 after buying an additional 211,000 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Denny’s by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,545,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,094,000 after acquiring an additional 228,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Denny’s by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,546 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Denny’s Company Profile

Denny's Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates franchised full-service restaurant chains under the Denny's and Keke's Breakfast Cafe brands in the United States and internationally. The company was formerly known as Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc and changed its name to Denny's Corporation in July 2002.