Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $206.00 Price Target at Barclays

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $192.00 to $206.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $4.15 on Friday, hitting $187.59. 4,138,488 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. The company has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty 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 current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $188.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 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 return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders 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 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in 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.