Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $212.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by Stephens from $200.00 to $212.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $217.45 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $209.59 and its 200 day moving average is $196.98. The firm has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in 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 period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $31,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth $34,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.