BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $190.00 to $215.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $217.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $209.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 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. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,967,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $84,801,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,137,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,919,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.