Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $225.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.38.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $224.68 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $226.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $206.56 and its 200-day moving average is $195.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 50.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $642,967,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $84,801,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,137,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,919,000. 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.