Melius Begins Coverage on Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Analysts at Melius began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Melius’ price target points to a potential upside of 15.99% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on DRI. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $206.91 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $213.81 and its 200-day moving average is $201.00. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $138.21 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $24.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares in the company, valued at $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bowman & Co S.C. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is 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.