Reviewing Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) & SSP Group (OTCMKTS:SSPPF)

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) and SSP Group (OTCMKTS:SSPPF) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Dave & Buster’s Entertainment and SSP Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment	-2.32%	-7.93%	-0.26%
SSP Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.5% of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its stock price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SSP Group has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Dave & Buster’s Entertainment and SSP Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment	2	3	3	0	2.13
SSP Group	0	2	1	0	2.33

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment presently has a consensus target price of $21.83, suggesting a potential upside of 63.30%. Given Dave & Buster’s Entertainment’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Dave & Buster’s Entertainment is more favorable than SSP Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dave & Buster’s Entertainment and SSP Group”s 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	0.22	-$48.70 million	($1.43)	-9.35
SSP Group	$4.75 billion	0.36	-$97.17 million	N/A	N/A

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has higher earnings, but lower revenue than SSP Group.

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 SSP Group

SSP Group plc operates food and beverage outlets in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates outlets at airports, railway stations, motorway service areas, hospitals, and shopping centers. It also operates sandwich shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants. SSP Group plc was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.