Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $206.00 Price Target at Barclays

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $192.00 to $206.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.3 %

DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $188.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.99.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. 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 is presently 64.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,448. This trade represents a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.