Robert W. Baird Cuts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $192.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target reduced by Robert W. Baird from $210.00 to $192.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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 Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $196.75 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $196.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 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.