Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Lowered to $165.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $175.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on DRI. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.46.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.2 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $168.32 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $177.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $165.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Corporate 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 bought and sold shares of the stock. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,944,000 after acquiring an additional 8,480 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth about $777,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 42,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,398,000 after buying an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 523.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,995,000 after purchasing an additional 163,693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.