Morgan Stanley Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $217.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $209.00 to $217.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.54% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on DRI. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $203.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.