Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) PT Lowered to $175.00 at Morgan Stanley

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $180.00 to $175.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a buy rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $173.81.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $148.78 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $151.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 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.