Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $188.95 and last traded at $188.66, with a volume of 1179353 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $186.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Stephens increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $334,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,602,433.26. This represents a 11.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,548 shares of company stock valued at $2,680,347. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $772,635,000 after purchasing an additional 26,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.