Raymond James Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Raymond James restated their outperform rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has a $167.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their prior target price of $175.00.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $173.81.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $148.78 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $150.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.83.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (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 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently 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.