Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Earns Buy Rating from TD Cowen

TD Cowen reiterated their buy rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $190.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Darden Restaurants from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $156.52 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.10. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 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.