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Non-Tech : Dave & Busters (DAB) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Yogizuna who wrote (248)	8/30/2000 11:57:09 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 278

Second quarter EPS came in at $.17 per share; the consensus estimate was $.16 per share. Same store comps were up 1.4%. Full press release: biz.yahoo.com

To: Yogizuna who wrote (248)	9/5/2000 7:17:46 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 278

DAB appears to have lost a bit of steam and I closed out my position today at 8 1/2. I'm hoping for a pull back. biz.yahoo.com Tuesday September 5, 4:35 pm Eastern Time worldlyinvestor.com Sector of the Day Building an Empire on Quarter Munchers Glenn S. Curtis, Columnist Dave and Buster's mix of arcade games and informal dining provide investors a lot of replay value. Here's one for those who like to play along with their food. Dave & Buster's (NYSE:DAB - news) was founded in 1982 with the goal to provide not only casual dining, but also a unique entertainment experience. Each eating establishment has cool stuff like billiards and ultra-sophisticated video games to keep the kid in all of us amused. The food is pretty darn good, ta boot. Yet most investors have been ignoring the stock, despite its prospects for some pretty hefty growth. Dave & Buster's, affectionately known as D&B, has 26 restaurants throughout the US. And while the domestic market has hardly been saturated, it has recently started to expand internationally. New locations have recently been added in the United Kingdom, Taiwan and Canada. Germinating More Outlets In Europe, the company inked a deal with licensee Galaxy Development AG to erect seven outlets over the next year throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Under this agreement, the first store is slated to open sometime this fall in Herne, Germany. With more than 18 million people residing within an hour's drive of the city, management is very optimistic of its success. Looking out a bit further, the company also has a tremendous opportunity to expand in the Middle East. In August D&B signed a deal with Al-Mal Entertainment Enterprises, K.C.S., a Kuwait corporation, to open six new stores in that region. The first of these stores is expected to open in 2002. In short, the opportunity for international expansion alone could be enough of a reason to recommend this stock. But lets not ignore D&B's domestic successes. In the second quarter ended July 30, the company posted a 2.2% jump in same-store sales. Revenue jumped 34.6% to $77.6 million and earnings per share increased 13.3% to 17 cents for the quarter. Management Not Playing Around The reason for D&B's success is actually quite simple. Management has focused on consistently improving operations at the store level by keeping its games fresh and by trying to boost the average customer ``per-ticket charge.'' In addition, the company was able to boost its revenue line by successfully opening locations in San Jose, Calif.; Denver; and Pittsburgh. In the fourth quarter, another store is expected to be up and running in San Diego. Revenue in 2001 should continue to accelerate, as the total store count is expected to increase by four stores, or roughly 15%. Top management sure thinks that this is the time to be buying the stock. Executives have bought more than 172,000 shares in the open market over the past 12 months. In addition, insiders hold a sizeable number of options and continue to own roughly 13.2% of the outstanding shares. If nothing else, this buying ensures that management will be aggressive in efforts to enhance the value to the common shareholder. To make sure that D&B is successful in efforts to expand its store base profitably, the company has begun a new marketing campaign. The campaign's goal will be to establish D&B as more of a national brand by utilizing radio, television, print and direct mail. Getting Some Credit So far, management has stated that the new marketing program has had a positive impact in driving revenue. But I think that we will start to see this by way of improved revenue and earnings in the coming quarters. In the interim, the company has a $110 million revolving credit facility provided by FleetBoston Financial that will be used to fund the store-expansion program and to refinance its existing debt. But even without this credit facility, D&B is in pretty good shape. It has adequate working capital, kicks off solid operational cash flow and has a book value of $11.95 a share. In short, at 0.4 times sales, D&B is just one of those companies that is too cheap not to own. Consensus estimates have D&B earning 93 cents a share in fiscal 2001 ending January and $1.19 per share in fiscal 2002. With an implied earnings growth rate of 21.5% this stock screams value. But in all seriousness, a multiple of 12 times 2002 estimates would still conservatively value this stock north of $13 -- roughly 62% higher than its current price of about $8.60. Glenn Curtis is an analyst for worldlyinvestor.com. Prior to working at worldlyinvestor.com, he was an analyst at InsiderTrader.com, a financial Web site, and at Cantone Research, a brokerage firm in central New Jersey. Curtis is series 6, 7, 24, and 63 licensed. He does not hold a position in any of the companies mentioned. Positions can change at any time.