Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $180.13.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,206 shares of company stock worth $12,460,313 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 26,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the first quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 933,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $155,951,000 after purchasing an additional 85,000 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $162.54 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

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.