Citigroup Lowers Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $191.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Citigroup from $192.00 to $191.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 21.37% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on DRI. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. BTIG Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.45.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $157.37 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after buying an additional 8,619 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 968,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $159,047,000 after buying an additional 65,223 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $3,901,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during 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 period. 93.64% of the stock is 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.