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

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

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on DRI. Stephens initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an equal weight rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $181.00 to $170.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $173.81.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $148.78 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $150.99 and its 200-day moving average is $159.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,583 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,948,000 after buying an additional 2,981 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.7% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 329,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,155,000 after purchasing an additional 23,465 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.8% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 250,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.3% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 254,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,335,000 after purchasing an additional 17,325 shares during the period. 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.