Darden Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. As of May 30, 2021, it owned and operated 1,834 restaurants, which included 875 under the Olive Garden, 533 under the LongHorn Steakhouse, 170 under the Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, 81 under the Yard House, 63 under The Capital Grille, 44 under the Seasons 52, 42 under the Bahama Breeze, and 26 under the Eddie V's Prime Seafood brands. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Orlando, Florida.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $153.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 21st. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $140.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $161.00 to $148.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.65.
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $125.79. 826,097 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,273,043. The stock has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.64. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $110.96 and a 52-week high of $164.28. The firm's 50 day moving average is $119.42 and its 200 day moving average is $127.99.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 39.05%. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 8th were paid a $1.21 dividend. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 7th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.41%.
Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants
In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total value of $66,356.01. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,170.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 41,442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.71, for a total value of $5,168,231.82. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 222,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,745,480.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.03, for a total transaction of $66,356.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,170.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.