Denny's Co. (NASDAQ:DENN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Denny's Co. (NASDAQ:DENN - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, an increase of 27.3% from the October 15th total of 1,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 608,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DENN. Wedbush lowered their target price on Denny's from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lowered their price target on Denny's from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Denny's from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Denny's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Denny's from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Denny's

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Denny's by 73.2% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,381,120 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,908,000 after buying an additional 583,660 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Denny's by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,634,514 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $55,693,000 after purchasing an additional 558,964 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Denny's by 1,487.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 531,530 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,774,000 after purchasing an additional 498,051 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Denny's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,387,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Denny's by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,827 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,938,000 after purchasing an additional 155,100 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Denny's Stock Performance

DENN traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 661,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 584,720. The company's 50-day moving average is $6.46 and its 200-day moving average is $6.76. Denny's has a 52 week low of $5.37 and a 52 week high of $11.16. The firm has a market cap of $335.70 million, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 2.02.

Denny's (NASDAQ:DENN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $111.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $115.46 million. Denny's had a net margin of 3.90% and a negative return on equity of 48.64%. Denny's's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Denny's will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Denny's

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.