Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Downgraded by TD Cowen

TD Cowen cut shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $150.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $170.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on DRI. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $170.95.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.8 %

DRI opened at $141.90 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.58 and its 200 day moving average is $156.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 24,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 8,431 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. &PARTNERS boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 123.8% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 3,727 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,139 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.