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

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $180.13.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $169.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $162.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. 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 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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.