Bank of America Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $195.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $184.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.10% from the company’s current price.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.88.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $2.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $169.42. 892,915 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,226,596. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.