Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stephens Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective boosted by Stephens from $175.00 to $178.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on DRI. Barclays upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $192.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.85. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,729. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th 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 period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Darden Restaurants

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.