Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $235.00 at Wedbush

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target upped by Wedbush from $220.00 to $235.00 in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $192.08 and a 200 day moving average of $176.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 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.