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

Key Points

• Darden Restaurants, Inc. has an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 28 research firms, with 10 hold ratings and 18 buy ratings, and an average 12-month target price of $225.96.
• The company recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing a yield of 3.1% and an annualized payout of $6.00.
• Darden has initiated a share buyback plan allowing it to repurchase $1 billion worth of shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $225.9630.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $153,977,000 after purchasing an additional 629,669 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $417,935,000 after purchasing an additional 596,863 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $191,980,000 after acquiring an additional 579,759 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,521,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 239.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 722,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $157,490,000 after acquiring an additional 509,655 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $193.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average is $203.05 and its 200-day moving average is $206.01. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $155.18 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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