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

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $192.52.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $186.27 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $191.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.