By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $195.00 to $211.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.
Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on DRI. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wedbush increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.
Darden Restaurants Price Performance
Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $188.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.
Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is 64.59%.
Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants
In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. &PARTNERS grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 123.8% in the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 3,727 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 24,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,770,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the second quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 10,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.1% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.7% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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