Sanford C. Bernstein Lowers Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) to Market Perform

Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $180.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous target price of $190.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. TD Cowen reissued a hold rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.90 and its 200 day moving average is $153.19.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants 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 value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.