Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective boosted by Guggenheim from $205.00 to $220.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $207.37 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $210.47. 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 firm has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $193.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis 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 Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,216 shares of company stock worth $12,808,372. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 93.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 21.9% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,944,000 after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,534 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,514,000. 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.