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

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $201.38.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $202.67 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

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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