Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $200.00

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $166.87 and its 200 day moving average is $157.30. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $188.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,433.26. This trade represents a 11.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,320 shares of company stock worth $1,366,948. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.