Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $225.00 to $245.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Darden Restaurants traded as high as $223.50 and last traded at $223.22, with a volume of 193175 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $217.50.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $205.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

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.

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