Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $178.00 Price Target at Stephens

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Stephens from $175.00 to $178.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential downside of 10.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.84.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 5.6 %

DRI stock opened at $198.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $203.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in 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.