UBS Group Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $195.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $188.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Raymond James restated an outperform rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a hold rating to an underperform rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $172.74 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.48 and its 200 day moving average is $153.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

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

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.