Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $205.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior target price of $165.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.90 and a 200 day moving average of $153.19. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,986,000 after acquiring an additional 8,619 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,901,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st 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. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $838,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.