Darden Restaurants' (DRI) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $170.00 target price on the restaurant operator's stock. Wedbush's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.24% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on DRI. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. TD Cowen cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Argus cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.45.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $155.63. 841,927 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,218,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.82.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Union Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,766,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. 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.