Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $210.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRIFree Report) had its price objective boosted by Raymond James from $200.00 to $210.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Read Our Latest Research Report on DRI

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $196.35 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.85. The stock has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $196.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRIGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third 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 last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Read More

Analyst Recommendations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Receive News & Ratings for Darden Restaurants Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Darden Restaurants and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.