Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, KeyCorp Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at KeyCorp from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.05% from the company’s previous close.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.73. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $203.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % 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. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently 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.