Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $230.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Darden Restaurants traded as high as $219.66 and last traded at $219.33, with a volume of 275879 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $217.53.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.77.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted 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 boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.8%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $203.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.94. The stock has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. 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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