Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Analysts at KeyCorp raised their Q3 2020 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a report released on Thursday, December 12th, according to Zacks Investment Research. KeyCorp analyst E. Gonzalez now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $1.94 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.92. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock.
Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. SunTrust Banks dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $123.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.00.
Shares of DRI traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $108.96. 1,478,632 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,012. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.06. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $97.91 and a twelve month high of $128.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.05. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,247.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 115.6% during the 2nd quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Motco grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 125.5% during the 2nd quarter. Motco now owns 451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.
In other news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $123,536.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.48%.
About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. As of May 27, 2018, it owned and operated approximately 1,746 restaurants under the Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, and Eddie V’s brands.