Stephens Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $164.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.46.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $183.44 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $188.82.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently 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.