BTIG Research Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $195.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective raised by analysts at BTIG Research from $175.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.10% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.88.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:DRI traded down $2.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $169.42. 892,915 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,226,596. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $149.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.39.

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

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

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

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