Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $196.94 and last traded at $197.90, with a volume of 214588 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $195.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $181.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,247 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,100,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 842 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $17,949,000. SPC Financial Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 2,949 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.8% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 810 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 357 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.