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

TD Cowen reiterated their hold rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $150.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $170.17 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $150.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.