Stephens Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $164.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target increased by Stephens from $159.00 to $164.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on DRI. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Darden Restaurants from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of DRI opened at $172.74 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during 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.