Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given Equal Weight Rating at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $164.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.88.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $168.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.67.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. Darden Restaurants’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. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 824.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,687,000 after purchasing an additional 36,334 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,081,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth about $326,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.