Evercore ISI Lowers Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $165.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price lowered by Evercore ISI from $170.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on DRI. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $173.81.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $148.78 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $150.99 and its 200-day moving average is $159.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $72,901,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $167,359,000 after purchasing an additional 418,860 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,601,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 27.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,602,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,516,000 after buying an additional 340,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,976,000 after buying an additional 312,531 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.