October 12, 2023
Top 10 Stock Darden Restaurants Strong Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Darden Restaurants – Top 10 Stock in Dividend Champions United States
Darden Restaurants is listed as a top 10 stock on October 12, 2023 in the market index Dividends USA because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, including positive market sentiment in the professional investor community, it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 100 (top 100% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Darden Restaurants on October 12, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Index | Dividends USA, S&P US Luxury, S&P 500 |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Darden Restaurants Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | October 12, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 58 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 90 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 100 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 100 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2023, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Darden Restaurants are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all four indicators above average for Darden Restaurants. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 58, which means that the share price of Darden Restaurants is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 58% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 55, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 90. Finally, professional market sentiment is above average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 100. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 100, Darden Restaurants is better positioned than 100% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Value Rank of 58), above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55), safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 90), and a positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 100), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited and disappointments are less likely to occur, unless information not publicly available. High-Value Ranks sometimes indicate that the company's future is challenging. If they are safely financed and have above average growth, and are still a good value, it may indicate that this will not continue. We recommend evaluating whether the future of Darden Restaurants is as difficult as the stock’s low price, despite what good growth and safe financing practice suggest. Since the professional community is optimistic, you might have less to worry about, and the stock is just not sufficiently visible, which may indicate good timing right now. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Darden Restaurants very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2023, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Darden Restaurants is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all four indicators above average for Darden Restaurants. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 77 (better than 77% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. Analyst Opinions Change is also positive with a rank of 93, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better and recommending investing in the company. They are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Darden Restaurants. The Professional Investors rank is 90, which means that currently, professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 90% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Finally, Market Pulse has a rank of 69 which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the positive side when discussing this company (more positive news than for 69% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 100 (more positive than 100% compared with investment alternatives), Darden Restaurants has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Since all market sentiment indicators are positive, the professional community highly recommends investment in the company. Does this mean Darden Restaurants stocks are a safe investment? Far from it. Even professionals make mistakes. Especially in stock investing, there is a tendency to follow the leaders. Since trees don't grow to the heavens, such positive sentiment may also be interpreted as a danger sign. A lot of optimism can often be a sign of troubles to come, albeit unforeseen by most. ...read more
Value Strategy: Darden Restaurants Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), Darden Restaurants shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Darden Restaurants. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 58 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 58% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Darden Restaurants's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 14, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 14% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 69% of alternatives (only 31% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 12% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 58, is a buy recommendation based on Darden Restaurants's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Darden Restaurants Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 55 (better than 55% compared with alternatives), Darden Restaurants shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Darden Restaurants. Capital Growth has a rank of 57, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital more than 40% of its competitors. Investors welcomed this, visible in the Stock Returns rank of 61 (above 61% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has only a rank of 47, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 53% of its competitors, and Profit Growth is also low at a rank of 40. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 55, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. This is an ambiguous picture. Revenue growth and capital growth are strong, but the growth in profit, which seems good, can also be an indication that growth momentum may be negative. The fact that stock returns have been above average doesn't help much, as stock returns are less reliable in showing a company’s future growth potential. Prices may perform well for the simple reason that investors were too pessimistic in the past and are now correcting their opinions and moving the stock price to a more reasonable level. As the growth picture is mixed for Darden Restaurants, investors may want to look at value and sentiment indicators for a well-rounded picture of this stock. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Darden Restaurants Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | October 12, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 70 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 44 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 94 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 90 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 90 (better than 90% compared with alternatives) for 2023, the company Darden Restaurants has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Darden Restaurants is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Darden Restaurants. Leverage is at a rank of 70, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 70% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 94, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 94% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 44, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 56% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 90 (better than 90% compared with alternatives), Darden Restaurants has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Darden Restaurants. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Darden Restaurants Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | October 12, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 58 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 94 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 90 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 90 (better than 90% compared with investment alternatives), Darden Restaurants (Restaurants, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Darden Restaurants are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 58 (better than 58% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 90), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 90, is a strong buy recommendation based on Darden Restaurants's financial characteristics. As the company Darden Restaurants's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 58), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 55), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 90), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of Darden Restaurants. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. ...read more
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