Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $159.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen restated a hold rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Argus lowered 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. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $172.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.69 and a 200-day moving average of $153.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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 stock. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.