Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $200.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $200.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $203.47. The firm has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $192.08 and a 200-day moving average of $176.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,729. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 173,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,357,000 after purchasing an additional 12,434 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,175,000. 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.