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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Stephens from $164.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential downside of 4.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 14.7 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $183.44 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $188.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.99.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants 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 transaction of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,448. The trade was a 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % 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 valued at $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.