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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $195.00 to $210.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $188.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $334,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,433.26. The trade was a 11.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,320 shares of company stock valued at $1,366,948. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. &PARTNERS boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 123.8% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 3,727 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 24,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.7% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.