Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $188.95 and last traded at $188.66, with a volume of 1179353 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $186.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stephens boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $169.38 and its 200-day moving average is $158.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,548 shares of company stock valued at $2,345,887 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 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.