BMO Capital Markets Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $175.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $172.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.48 and a 200-day moving average of $153.18. The firm has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $349,268,000 after buying an additional 105,433 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares during the period. 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.