Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $194.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3 %

DRI stock opened at $187.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $188.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. 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.