Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) PT Raised to $200.00 at Wedbush

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Wedbush from $170.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $159.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Argus decreased 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. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.90 and a 200-day moving average of $153.49. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after purchasing an additional 105,433 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after buying an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after buying an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,811,000 after buying an additional 132,643 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by 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.