Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $200.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on DRI. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

DRI stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $203.47. The firm has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $642,967,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after acquiring an additional 772,907 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $48,919,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,048,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.