Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $178.85.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,320,000 after purchasing an additional 34,478 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $156.52 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.