Oppenheimer Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $218.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price boosted by Oppenheimer from $200.00 to $218.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on DRI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.12.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $184.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.41. The company has a market capitalization of $21.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,390 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $15,991,000 after acquiring an additional 3,521 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $325,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $24,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 824.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,741 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,687,000 after buying an additional 36,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.