Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $253.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $252.00 to $253.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Stephens increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $217.45 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.59 and its 200 day moving average is $196.98. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $405,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $67,001,000 after acquiring an additional 13,074 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in 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 valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.