Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 9th

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 21st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.31 per share by the restaurant operator on Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th.

Darden Restaurants has raised its dividend payment by an average of 78.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Darden Restaurants has a payout ratio of 49.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Darden Restaurants to earn $9.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.6%.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $156.35 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.43 and its 200 day moving average is $157.98.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 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 revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 3,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.80, for a total transaction of $628,336.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,971 shares in the company, valued at $1,141,849.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $1,115,229.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 3,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.80, for a total transaction of $628,336.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,141,849.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,340 shares of company stock worth $3,013,601 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 980.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 93.5% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 240 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Quilter Plc bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $297,900,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.