Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $164.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on DRI. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $162.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $157.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.46. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,706 shares of company stock worth $12,813,038. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.