Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $255.00 Price Target at Barclays

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $235.00 to $255.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.27.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $221.27 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.67.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.