Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) versus Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) Financial Review
by Amy Steele · The Cerbat GemDave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY – Get Free Report) and Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Dave & Buster’s Entertainment and Sabre’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Dave & Buster’s Entertainment | -3.09% | -24.19% | -0.72% |
| Sabre | 25.14% | N/A | -2.12% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Dave & Buster’s Entertainment and Sabre, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Dave & Buster’s Entertainment | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2.11 |
| Sabre | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment presently has a consensus price target of $19.33, indicating a potential upside of 137.51%. Sabre has a consensus price target of $1.75, indicating a potential downside of 19.35%. Given Dave & Buster’s Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Dave & Buster’s Entertainment is more favorable than Sabre.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
91.4% of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.4% of Sabre shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Sabre shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a beta of 1.82, meaning that its share price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sabre has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Dave & Buster’s Entertainment and Sabre”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Dave & Buster’s Entertainment | $2.10 billion | 0.13 | -$48.70 million | ($1.89) | -4.31 |
| Sabre | $2.85 billion | 0.31 | $524.62 million | $1.65 | 1.32 |
Sabre has higher revenue and earnings than Dave & Buster’s Entertainment. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sabre, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Sabre beats Dave & Buster’s Entertainment on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. The company operates its venues under the Dave & Buster's name. As of April 02, 2019, it owned and operated 125 venues in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
About Sabre
Sabre Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as software and technology company for travel industry in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Travel Solutions and Hospitality Solutions. The Travel Solutions segment operates a business-to-business travel marketplace that offers travel content, such as inventory, prices, and availability from a range of travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines, and tour operators with a network of travel buyers comprising online and offline travel agencies, travel management companies, and corporate travel departments. This segment provides a portfolio of software technology products and solutions through software-as-a-service (SaaS) and hosted delivery models to airlines and other travel suppliers. Its products include reservation systems for carriers, commercial and operations products, agency solutions, and data-driven intelligence solutions. Its Hospitality Solutions segment provides software and solutions to hoteliers through SaaS and hosted delivery models. Sabre Corporation was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Southlake, Texas.