Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $238.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Bank of America from $230.00 to $238.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Bank of America's target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.92% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded up $8.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.91. 991,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,227,342. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $210.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,729 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth $682,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $409,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,890 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position 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 buying an additional 772,907 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares in 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.