Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $196.94 and last traded at $197.90, with a volume of 214588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $180.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors 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 yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,303,692. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during 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 worth $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after buying an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.