UBS Group Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $225.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target increased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $210.00 to $225.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on DRI. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.84.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $198.69. The company had a trading volume of 326,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,739. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $642,967,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $48,919,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,048,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.