Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $238.00 at Bank of America

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price raised by Bank of America from $230.00 to $238.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.