Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $220.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Darden Restaurants traded as high as $206.91 and last traded at $208.54, with a volume of 260326 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $199.93.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,698 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,729 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 4.3 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $192.08 and a 200 day moving average of $176.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $24.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

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.