Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $230.00 at Oppenheimer

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Oppenheimer from $218.00 to $230.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.08.

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Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $8.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.91. 991,939 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,227,342. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $210.47. The company's 50 day moving average is $192.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.