Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) PT Raised to $176.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $176.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.43% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $150.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $4,216,000. Farmers National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 8.3% in the second quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 3,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $1,856,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 71,780 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,862,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently 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.