Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by Wedbush from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $188.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.99. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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 given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,448. This represents a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.