Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $220.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Darden Restaurants traded as high as $206.91 and last traded at $208.54, with a volume of 260326 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $199.93.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,534 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Prospector Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.1% during the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 65,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,714,000 after buying an additional 2,593 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.56.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.