Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.28% from the company’s current price.

DRI has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $188.88. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.87 and a 200-day moving average of $157.25.

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. The trade was a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.