Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $194.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $194.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $188.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $166.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. This represents a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value 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. The trade was a 11.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,320 shares of company stock worth $1,366,948 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after acquiring an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares during 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.