Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $194.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $187.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.59%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $459,216,000 after buying an additional 17,497 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after acquiring an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.