UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $195.00 to $210.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. UBS Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 11.95% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on DRI. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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 upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $4.15 on Friday, reaching $187.59. The stock had a trading volume of 4,138,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $188.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50-day moving average is $166.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This trade represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. The trade was a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during 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.

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.