Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives $180.13 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $180.13.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $168.69 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

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.