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

Key Points

• Darden Restaurants has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 27 covering analysts, with 18 buy ratings and 9 hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $226.88.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting earnings of $2.95 per share on revenue of $3.35 billion. Revenue rose 5.9% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of $10.61.
• Darden also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, or $6.00 annualized, for a yield of about 3.0%. The payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $226.88.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $200.66 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $197.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.

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