Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $165.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a hold rating to an underperform rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year 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 company has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $150.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.19.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

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