Stephens Begins Coverage on Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $170.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a buy rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $154.06 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.59. The company has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,202,000. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,038,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,320,000 after purchasing an additional 34,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.