Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by TD Cowen

TD Cowen reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a $175.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $184.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $173.00 to $177.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 14th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 17th. They issued a neutral rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $168.22.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $149.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.51. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $120.20 and a fifty-two week high of $173.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.58.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 47.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 7th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.50%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.75, for a total transaction of $2,302,984.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,700,682. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.75, for a total value of $2,302,984.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,700,682. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 74,741 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.90, for a total transaction of $12,474,272.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 157,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,363,023.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,775 shares of company stock valued at $43,532,251 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 207.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 3,202 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $331,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,161,481 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $180,215,000 after buying an additional 71,462 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.53% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, through 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 brands.