Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $175.00 at Stephens

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Stephens from $164.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential downside of 6.71% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.25. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $188.88. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,448. This trade represents a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.