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

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $200.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.35.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $226.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.96. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 50.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.