Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $218.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price increased by Oppenheimer from $200.00 to $218.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $183.73 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $173.70 and a 200 day moving average of $160.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other 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.