Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $238.00 at Bank of America

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $230.00 to $238.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.80% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One 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, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.84.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $198.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $203.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.67 and its 200-day moving average is $176.31. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 129 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.