Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $177.46 and last traded at $176.92, with a volume of 578416 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $167.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 4.5 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. The trade was a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.