Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price upped by Oppenheimer from $218.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $192.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.60. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $203.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 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.