Stephens Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $175.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its target price upped by Stephens from $164.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $4.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $187.59. 4,138,488 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $166.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.99. The firm has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $188.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.