Share Repurchase Plan Initiated by Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Board of Directors

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $213.35.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $3.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $226.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,826,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,331,783. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $235.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.96.

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 $2.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 50.68%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.