BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $4.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $187.59. The stock had a trading volume of 4,138,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $188.88. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $166.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.99.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.4% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.