Robert W. Baird Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $194.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $194.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of DRI traded up $4.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.59. 4,138,488 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $188.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.25 and a 200-day moving average of $156.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,719. This trade represents a 99.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. &PARTNERS increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 123.8% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 3,727 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,062 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 24,913 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,770,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the second quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 10,743 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.1% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,222 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.