Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $195.00 to $200.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Stephens raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $188.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.87 and a 200-day moving average of $157.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. This represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $334,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,602,433.26. This trade represents a 11.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,320 shares of company stock valued at $1,366,948. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. &PARTNERS lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 123.8% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 3,727 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 24,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,770,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the second quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 10,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.1% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.