Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $160.23.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $147.01 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $150.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.58. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $110.96 and a 1 year high of $155.90. The company has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.10. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 45.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th were issued a $1.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $345,495.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 78,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $12,147,539.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 199,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,763,834.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $345,495.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 96,611 shares of company stock valued at $14,887,160. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 25.1% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,090 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 17.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 776,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $103,176,000 after purchasing an additional 113,548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.