Darden (DRI) (FAST) (BMO) (HCC) (INN) (PDS) Downgraded

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST), Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HCC), Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (NYSE: INN) and Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS) were downgraded by analysts.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) was downgraded by Argus from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Fastenal (FAST) was downgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Bank of Montreal (BMO) was downgraded by Canaccord Genuity from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (HCC) was downgraded by RBC Capital from an “Outperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating.

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (INN) was downgraded by KeyBanc from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Precision Drilling (PDS) was downgraded by Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) from a “Strong Buy” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Dynegy (DYN) (DRI) (GTY) (MTL) (FIO) (CIS) Biggest NYSE Losers

Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN), Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE:GTY), Mechel (NYSE:MTL), Fusion-Io Inc. (NYSE:FIO) and Camelot Information Systems Inc. (NYSE:CIS) were the biggest losers on the NYSE, Tuesday, December 6.

Dynegy Inc. (DYN) ended the session down 13.02 percent, closing at $2.74. They traded in a range of $2.72 to $3.15. A total of 1,883,131 shares changed hands.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) ended the session down 12.19 percent, closing at $41.91. They traded in a range of $41.83 to $43.83. A total of 14,356,200 shares changed hands.

Getty Realty Corp. (GTY) ended the session down 11.54 percent, closing at $13.18. They traded in a range of $13.01 to $14.75. A total of 1,238,750 shares changed hands.

Mechel (MTL) ended the session down 10.73 percent, closing at $10.48. They traded in a range of $9.95 to $11.38. A total of 5,735,440 shares changed hands.

Fusion-Io Inc. (FIO) ended the session down 9.80 percent, closing at $28.98. They traded in a range of $28.52 to $30.39. A total of 5,845,629 shares changed hands.

Camelot Information Systems Inc. (CIS) ended the session down 7.35 percent, closing at $2.27. They traded in a range of $2.24 to $2.49. A total of 257,718 shares changed hands.

Dividend Yields for (DRI) (CCL) (YUM) (WYN) (SBUX)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI), Carnival Corp (CCL), Yum! Brands Inc (YUM), Wyndham Worldwide Corp (WYN) and Starbucks Corp (SBUX).

These dividend data indicate dividend yields of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as of Saturday, April 30. The yield is determined by taking the latest declared dividend, annualized and divided by the price of the stock. Payout ratios are calculated based on latest quarterly dividend paid divided by earnings.

Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI) has a dividend yield of 2.73 percent on a declared dividend of $0.32. The payout ratio is 28.8 percent.

Carnival Corp (CCL) has a dividend yield of 2.63 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 129.9 percent.

Yum! Brands Inc (YUM) has a dividend yield of 1.86 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 44.8 percent.

Wyndham Worldwide Corp (WYN) has a dividend yield of 1.73 percent on a declared dividend of $0.15. The payout ratio is 36.0 percent.

Starbucks Corp (SBUX) has a dividend yield of 1.44 percent on a declared dividend of $0.13. The payout ratio is 38.4 percent.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Comps At Low End of Range

Even though comps are coming in at the low end of the former range, it appears in the first half Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) EPS could enjoy some upside.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) said, "F11 EPS growth guidance was reiterated though comps are now at the low end of the prior range... not pleasing for a comp driven investor who invests in Darden for their strong industry comp outperformance. Yet with 1H EPS ahead of plan despite comps behind, it's possible to still see EPS upside in F11. While we continue to believe casual dining is best positioned for outperformance into 2011, and Darden still offers the best fundamentals, we expect stock price outperformance will be more tempered near term...Darden shares (& most of their peers) were at 52-week highs, and we believe justifiably so. We're therefore not surprised by today's weakness. At 13.5x vs the 6-15x 3-year range & 11.5x average, DRI remains cheapest in the segment, despite comp, unit & EPS growth above peers. We're buyers on the weakness."

Barclays maintains an "Overweight" on Darden Restaurants, which closed Wednesday at $47.20, down $0.34, or 0.72 percent. Barclays has a price target of $57 on them.

Darden Restaurants' (NYSE:DRI) Longhorn Performance Outstanding

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) is being driven at this time by the outstanding SSS performance of LongHorn, although questions remain as to the sustainability of the SSS performances of Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

KeyBank said, "the outstanding SSS performance at LongHorn, the improving SSS momentum at both Olive Garden and Red Lobster throughout the quarter, continued strong, near-peak margin performance in the 2Q despite the miss in blended SSS, and continued out-performance at the Company's growth brand LongHorn," has encouraged them to maintain their rating on Darden and raise their price target on them as well.

KeyBanc maintains a "Buy" rating on Darden Restaurants, which closed Tuesday at $47.54, down $2.89, or 5.73 percent. KeyBanc raised their price target on them from $50 to $56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Generates More Questions than Answers

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) is a mixed bag of contradictory data, and going forward it's difficult to ascertain which direction the company will go, and how far.

UBS (NYSE:UBS) noted, "Our EPS estimate for F2Q is $0.55 (+27% YOY, cons $0.54), based on 2.5% blended same store sales (SSS) growth. Our estimates by brand are: Red Lobster flat, Olive Garden 3%, LongHorn 6%. We believe that LongHorn sales accelerated behind national cable advertising, and that RL sales may have experienced modest improvement due to a greater emphasis on value during the quarter.

"Heading into calendar 2011, major questions/issues for DRI shares include: 1) Can Darden deliver EPS upside and move to a “recovery premium valuation”, creating upside potential to our $57 price target?, 2) Will sales underperformance continue at Red Lobster?, 3) Will food and energy related costs become a constraint to EPS in FY12?, and 4) Will strong sales at Long Horn and low interest rates encourage Darden to once again acquire a restaurant chain?"

UBS maintains a "Buy" on Darden Restaurants, which closed Monday at $48.54, down $0.94, or 1.90 percent. They raised their price target on them from $54 to $57, suggesting they're a little more bullish than bearish on the restaurant company.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) a Strongly Managed Company

Saying they're among the "best managed casual dining chains," Argus increased their estimates and price target on Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI), while maintaining their "Buy" rating on them.

"We believe that Darden is among the best managed casual dining chains, and based on its plan to increase the store count, grow same-store sales and improve operational efficiency," said Argus.

EPS estimates for full year 2011 were increased from $3.30 to $3.35 and for full year 2012 from $3.70 to $3.80.

Darden closed Wednesday at $49.32, gaining $0.37, or 0.76 percent. Argus raised their price target on them from $52 to $58.