Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Evercore ISI currently has $205.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $165.00.

DRI has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a hold rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of DRI opened at $172.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $151.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.18. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.