Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Evercore ISI

23 Sep 2024, 04:18 by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat Gem

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $205.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior target price of $165.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America 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 note on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.28.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.90 and a 200 day moving average of $153.19. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,986,000 after acquiring an additional 8,619 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,901,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $838,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

(Get Free Report)