Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Rating Reiterated by TD Cowen

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at TD Cowen in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $190.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price points to a potential upside of 24.59% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $152.50 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $165.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.90. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 25.1% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 776,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $103,176,000 after purchasing an additional 113,548 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.