Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $192.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays boosted 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. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 5.5 %

DRI stock opened at $196.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $196.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.72.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.