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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price boosted by Citigroup from $223.00 to $229.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Stephens increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $192.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.