Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $212.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $200.00 to $212.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price points to a potential upside of 13.81% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on DRI. KeyCorp raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.00.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $186.27 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $642,967,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 772,907 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,919,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $40,048,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.