Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective increased by Stephens from $216.00 to $220.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.79.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $209.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $210.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.68. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during 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%.Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at $18,009,682.76. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,271.04. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $923,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2,139.4% in the 4th quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 59,837 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,011,000 after buying an additional 57,165 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $1,657,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 224.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,910 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 293,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $54,083,000 after buying an additional 53,549 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.