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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by Robert W. Baird from $192.00 to $210.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on DRI. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 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 $203.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 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.