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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target boosted by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.54% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on DRI. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $203.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business 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 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.