Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $220.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Darden Restaurants traded as high as $206.91 and last traded at $208.54, with a volume of 260326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.93.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

Remove Ads

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,022 shares of company stock valued at $13,183,803. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 173,318 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $32,357,000 after acquiring an additional 12,434 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $1,225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,175,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $194.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

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.