Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $200.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $1.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $206.91. The stock had a trading volume of 497,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,882. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $210.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm 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 business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.