Robert W. Baird Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $210.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $192.00 to $210.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.08 and a 200 day moving average of $176.60. The company has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $203.47.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in 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.