Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives $192.52 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and sixteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $193.33.

A number of brokerages recently commented on DRI. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 173,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,357,000 after acquiring an additional 12,434 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $188.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $203.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.15.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

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.