Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives $201.38 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and seventeen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $201.38.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $200.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $195.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,264 shares of company stock worth $9,058,583. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.