Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Darden shares reached a 52-week high, rising 5.2% and last trading at $230.60, compared with the prior close of $219.39.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 16 analysts rate the stock Buy and nine Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $232.82.
• Quarterly EPS matched estimates at $2.05, while revenue of $3.20 billion came in slightly below forecasts; revenue grew 5.1% year over year. Darden also pays an annualized dividend of $6.48, a 2.8% yield.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $230.29 and last traded at $230.60, with a volume of 520,802 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $220.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $232.82.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 5.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business's 50-day moving average is $210.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.02. The firm has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.05. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.34%.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $629,736,000 after buying an additional 991,230 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,473 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $248,083,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,010,169 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $198,033,000 after buying an additional 5,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 14.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 685,636 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $141,248,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company's portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth's Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.

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