Peterson Wealth Services Purchases 9,847 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Peterson Wealth Services sharply increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 977.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,847 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 10,854 shares valued at about $2.0 million.
• Darden Restaurants reported solid quarterly results, topping earnings estimates with $2.95 EPS and posting revenue of $3.35 billion, up 5.9% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $226.88, while the company also pays a $1.50 quarterly dividend, or $6.00 annually.

Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 977.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,854 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 9,847 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services' holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DRI. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $17,438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $210.91 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $198.17 and its 200 day moving average is $198.46. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.88.

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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