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

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $160.23.

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $145.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $345,495.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $826,150. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 12,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total transaction of $1,974,179.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,488,086.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $345,495.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,330 shares in the company, valued at $826,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,611 shares of company stock valued at $14,887,160 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $147.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $150.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.58. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $110.96 and a twelve month high of $155.90. The company has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 45.62% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 6th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.19%.

About Darden Restaurants

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.