Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Increases Dividend to $1.50 Per Share

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, June 20th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of 1.50 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, August 1st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a 7.1% increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40.

Darden Restaurants has a payout ratio of 48.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Darden Restaurants to earn $10.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.6%.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI traded down $4.51 on Monday, hitting $221.27. 2,725,450 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,332,026. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.77 and a 200-day moving average of $196.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.27.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.