Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Bank of America from $230.00 to $238.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.05% from the stock’s current price.

DRI has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $203.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.08 and a 200-day moving average of $176.73. The company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.