Sanford C. Bernstein Downgrades Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) to Market Perform

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) was downgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $180.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their prior target price of $190.00. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.78% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $150.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.49. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after acquiring an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.