Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $193.00 to $209.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.97% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.0 %

DRI stock opened at $186.65 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $188.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $334,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,602,433.26. The trade was a 11.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,320 shares of company stock valued at $1,366,948 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.