Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given Equal Weight Rating at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $175.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DRI. Raymond James upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.33.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $198.66 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $203.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.67 and its 200-day moving average is $176.31. The company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,495 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $682,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $409,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 93.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.