Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by TD Cowen

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by TD Cowen in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $150.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 11.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $170.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $150.34 and its 200-day moving average is $153.52.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $72,901,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $58,601,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,345,000 after acquiring an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after purchasing an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after purchasing an additional 204,832 shares during the period. 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.