Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) PT Lowered to $170.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lowered by TD Cowen from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an equal weight rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $173.81.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $148.78 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.99 and its 200-day moving average is $159.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,202,000. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,986,000 after purchasing an additional 8,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 968,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $159,047,000 after purchasing an additional 65,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.