Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $180.46.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $166.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $177.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $165.39 and its 200-day moving average is $156.41. The firm has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results 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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,728,000 after acquiring an additional 5,887 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 22,744 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $342,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,614 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.