Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given Buy Rating at TD Cowen

TD Cowen reiterated their buy rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $190.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $155.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $167.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.21. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock worth $2,578,122. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 25.1% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $150,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,090 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,272,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 17.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 776,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $103,176,000 after buying an additional 113,548 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.