Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) late Tuesday posted market-beating earnings and offered an in-line outlook for 2017.

Written by StockNews.com

The Dallas-based restaurant and entertainment venue operator reported:

• Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.63, which was $0.04 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.59.
• Revenues rose 15.4% from last year to $270.2 million, also topping analysts’ view for $269.8 million.
• Comparable store sales increased 3.2% in the latest period. Comps are considered a key indicator of a restaurant’s health, since they measure the year-over-year sales performance of stores open at least 12 months.

Looking ahead, the company forecast full-year 2017 revenues ranging from $1.155 to $1.170 billion, which is in-line with analysts’ current $1.16 billion estimate. Dave & Buster’s also said it expects comps to grow 2% to 3% for the year.

The company commented on its current expansion plans via press release:

“We expect to open eleven to twelve new stores this year, representing 12% to 13% unit growth. Similar to last year, these openings will skew toward the large store format and new markets for our brand. Our development pipeline is robust and we remain well positioned over the long term to capitalize on the changing retail dynamics affecting big box operators and malls. Our long-term target for annual unit growth continues to be 10% or more and we foresee a 200+ store opportunity in North America alone.”

...Year-to-date, PLAY had gained 10.46% prior to today’s report, versus a 5.25% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

PLAY currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #8 of 53 stocks in the Restaurants category.