Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $165.00 at Credit Suisse Group

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 25th, 2023

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) had its price objective upped by Credit Suisse Group from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Friday, The Fly reports. Credit Suisse Group currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $148.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, March 15th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. They issued a buy rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $159.85.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $152.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.47. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $110.96 and a fifty-two week high of $154.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 42.51%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th will be given a $1.21 dividend. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $334,350.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,328 shares in the company, valued at $799,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.95, for a total value of $283,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,364 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,069.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $334,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,229 shares of company stock worth $1,358,200. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 69,645 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 13,957 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 5,323 shares during the last quarter. WC Walker & Associates Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. WC Walker & Associates Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 168,447 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,301,000 after acquiring an additional 10,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.

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Analyst Recommendations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

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