UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $225.00 to $245.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on DRI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.69.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $224.63 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $225.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $206.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.83.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 9,006 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,871,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $18,906,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,650,000 after buying an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 22,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,663,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.