Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Now Covered by Stephens

Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $170.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Darden Restaurants from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE DRI opened at $153.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 223.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,549,545 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $214,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,472 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,573,384 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $217,646,000 after acquiring an additional 532,340 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,380,814,000 after acquiring an additional 455,588 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 55.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $167,359,000 after purchasing an additional 418,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 33.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,572,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $209,110,000 after purchasing an additional 394,786 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.