Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $211.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Bank of America from $195.00 to $211.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Bank of America's target price suggests a potential upside of 12.48% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on DRI. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (up from $182.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $4.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,138,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $188.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.25 and a 200 day moving average of $156.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. This represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.