Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on DRI. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $215.87. 3,490,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,570. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,463 shares of company stock valued at $4,997,442 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,566 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,046,774 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $195,422,000 after acquiring an additional 102,888 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,779 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,239 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% 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.

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