Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $195.00

23 Sep 2024, 09:38 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by BTIG Research from $175.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday. Wedbush increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Darden Restaurants from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.28.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on DRI

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.2 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.90 and a 200 day moving average of $153.19. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,216,000. Farmers National Bank raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 8.3% during the second quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 3,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $1,856,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 71,780 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,862,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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