Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $188.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $188.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on DRI. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Darden Restaurants from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.19.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.