Raymond James Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $170.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price hoisted by Raymond James from $167.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Raymond James’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.91% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.76.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $153.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $150.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.63. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 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.