Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $192.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $191.00 to $192.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Raymond James reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (down from $175.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $173.76.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $153.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.64. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.