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

Key Points

• Analysts' consensus: Darden has a "Moderate Buy" consensus from 27 analysts (18 buy, 9 hold) with an average 1-year target of $226.24, and several firms recently raised targets (Bank of America to $262).
• Recent quarter: Darden reported EPS of $2.95 (vs. $2.94 est.) and revenue of $3.35B (vs. $3.33B est.), with revenue up 5.9% year-over-year, a net margin of 8.66% and ROE of 53.54%.
• Dividend: The company declared a $1.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.00), implying a 3.0% yield and a payout ratio of ~63.5%, with an ex-dividend date of April 10.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $226.24.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $201.84 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $771,020,000 after acquiring an additional 68,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $537,001,000 after acquiring an additional 251,246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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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