Brokerages Set Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Price Target at $180.88

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.46.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.2 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $167.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $165.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.