KeyCorp Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by KeyCorp from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

DRI stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the 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 owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares in 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.