Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $192.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $191.00 to $192.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on DRI. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James reissued an outperform rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (down from $175.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $173.76.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $153.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is 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.