Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $206.00 to $230.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stephens increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $184.60 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18. The company has a market capitalization of $21.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.75 and a 200 day moving average of $160.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $72,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.