Stephens Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $178.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price lifted by Stephens from $175.00 to $178.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 10.40% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.84.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 5.6 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $198.66 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.47. The stock has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.