Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Increased to $176.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $176.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

DRI has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James restated an outperform rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Argus dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.52. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84.

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 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by 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.