Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Now Covered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $183.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.88.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE DRI opened at $171.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $177.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.89 and its 200 day moving average is $155.52.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. This represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $241,121,000 after acquiring an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after acquiring an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.