Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Receives “Hold” Rating from TD Cowen

TD Cowen reissued their hold rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $150.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on DRI. Argus reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $160.25 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.54 and a 200-day moving average of $153.49. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after buying an additional 105,433 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after acquiring an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.