Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by Wedbush from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Wedbush's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.28% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on DRI. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. One 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $4.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.59. 4,138,488 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,254,719. The company has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. 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 has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $188.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $166.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.99.

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. &PARTNERS raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 123.8% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 3,727 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 24,913 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the second quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 10,743 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,222 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.