Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $230.00 to $235.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $203.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.08 and its 200 day moving average is $176.60. The company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 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.