Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $189.12.

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.4% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $184.60 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $189.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $172.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.41. The firm has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

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.