Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $248.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $245.00 to $248.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on DRI. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.79.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0%

DRI opened at $209.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $229.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $210.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.68.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Williamson sold 1,110 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.32, for a total transaction of $226,795.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,197,257.28. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last three months. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.