Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) PT Raised to $177.00 at Piper Sandler

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $159.00 to $177.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $172.74 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after purchasing an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after buying an additional 18,899 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after buying an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,811,000 after buying an additional 132,643 shares during the last quarter. 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.