Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Truist Financial from $195.00 to $200.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:DRI traded up $4.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.59. The stock had a trading volume of 4,138,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. The business's 50 day moving average is $166.25 and its 200-day moving average is $156.99. 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 company has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

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