Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $200.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price upped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.18% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $199.64. 867,385 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,249,957. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.31. The firm has a market cap of $23.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’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 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 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.