Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $215.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on DRI. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $207.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,226,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,391. The firm has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.56. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $210.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company's 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 owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.