Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $230.29 and last traded at $230.60, with a volume of 520,802 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DRI. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $248.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, August 24th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. Sixteen equities research 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $210.90 and a 200 day moving average of $206.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 58.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $34,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $39,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $54,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company’s portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.