Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $185.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target raised by Bank of America from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on DRI. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $173.76.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $153.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $150.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 17.1% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 327,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $54,427,000 after purchasing an additional 47,915 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 846,994 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $141,553,000 after purchasing an additional 34,174 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 127.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 7,983 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,563 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,279,000 after purchasing an additional 29,989 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.