Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $164.00 Price Target at Stephens

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Stephens from $159.00 to $164.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ target price indicates a potential downside of 4.80% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on DRI. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.87.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 8.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $172.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.39. The firm has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 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 analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $349,268,000 after purchasing an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after buying an additional 18,899 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.