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

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $226.24.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $196.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $205.70 and its 200-day moving average is $193.77. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,790,128,000 after acquiring an additional 322,079 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after acquiring an additional 43,965 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,071,746,000 after purchasing an additional 100,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $771,020,000 after purchasing an additional 68,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.