| Over a week ago | ||||
John Miller, Chief… John Miller, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I continue to be impressed with how resilient and steadfast our teams are in their commitment to serving our guests. Denny's operators have maintained a dedicated focus on health and safety protocols while embracing innovative solutions such as curbside ordering, outdoor dining where permitted, and testing two new virtual brands in an environment challenged by mandated restrictions. With increasing distribution of vaccines, newly passed fiscal stimulus that should benefit our franchisees, and the ongoing resolve of our operators, I am confident that Denny's is well-positioned to continue navigating through the pandemic in an effective manner while preparing for future growth." In 2020, Denny's opened 20 restaurants, including 8 international locations, and closed 73 restaurants, bringing the year-end total restaurant count to 1,650. In addition, 22 remodels were completed during fiscal 2020, including two at company restaurants. During the fourth quarter, the Company paid down $20.0 million on its revolving credit facility, resulting in an outstanding balance of $210.0 million as of December 30, 2020. Additionally, after considering cash on hand, the remaining capacity under its revolving credit facility, and liquidity covenants, the Company had approximately $82 million of total available liquidity as of December 30, 2020. As a result of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and related dining room closures and capacity restrictions, the Company now anticipates Adjusted EBITDA for 2020 of between $24 million and $26 million. The Company previously provided full year guidance of between $5 million and $7 million in cash tax refunds, however these are now expected to be received in fiscal 2021. The Company's previous guidance for Adjusted Free Cash Flow of at least $10 million will be impacted by the revised expectation for Adjusted EBITDA and the delayed receipt of cash tax refunds. | ||||
| Over a month ago | ||||
Denny's Corporation… Denny's Corporation announced that it has entered into a third amendment to its amended and restated credit facility that provides the Company with greater financial flexibility by resetting financial covenants. The amended credit facility commitment is now $375M. Under the amendment, certain provisions of the credit facility were modified, including the waiver of certain financial covenants through March 31, 2021, followed by the introduction of more favorable covenant levels in the fiscal second and third quarters of 2021. The Company had $215M outstanding on the facility as of November 18, 2020, the end of its fiscal November period. | ||||
Wells Fargo analyst Jon… Wells Fargo analyst Jon Tower initiated coverage of Denny's with an Overweight rating and $16 price target. Investors currently underappreciate the potential margin and EBITDA improvement for Denny's business model as the economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Tower tells investors in a research note. The analyst expects unit growth to accelerate starting in 2021. | ||||
Truist analyst Jake… Truist analyst Jake Bartlett downgraded Dave & Buster's (PLAY) to Hold from Buy with an unchanged $25 price target. The stock remains a "COVID recovery story", but after a "strong" 74% run-up in price since June 11th, the analyst contends that investors can find better recovery opportunities in his Buy-rated names such as Dine Brands (DIN), Denny's (DENN) and Darden (DRI). Bartlett further warns that investor focus on Dave & Busters may shift back to "competitive intrusion" as he cuts his FY21 EPS view to (84c) from (63c). | ||||
Conference call with… Conference call with President Wolfinger, CFO Verostek and VP Nichols on December 1 hosted by MKM Partners. | ||||
Sidoti initiated coverage… Sidoti initiated coverage of Denny's with a Buy rating and $16 price target. | |
Conference call with… Conference call with President Wolfinger, CFO Verostek and VP Nichols on December 1 hosted by MKM Partners. | |
Latest data shows the… Latest data shows the largest indicative borrow rate increases among liquid option names include: Albertsons (ACI) 7.80% +3.36, Vuzix (VUZI) 26.37% +1.22, Switchback Energy Acquisition Corp (SBE) 6.08% +0.29, Co-Diagnostics (CODX) 36.17% +0.28, Trevena (TRVN) 10.58% +0.18, Revlon (REV) 92.87% +0.14, Denny's (DENN) 0.39% +0.14, iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (ACWI) 0.42% +0.11, (EOSE) 2.36% +0.11, and Velodyne Lidar (VLDR) 10.45% +0.08. | |
Virtual Meeting to be… Virtual Meeting to be held on November 17 hosted by Wedbush. | |
Wedbush analyst Nick… Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan raised the firm's price target on Denny's to $13.50 from $13 and reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares. The analyst continues to believe "discounts to pre-COVID valuations" within casual and family dining are poised to narrow towards pre-COVID levels. Despite near-term uncertainty regarding the direction of sales trends until a vaccine is widely available and administered, the probability of a vaccine "sooner rather than later" reduces risks to 2022 estimates, Setyan tells investors in a research note. |