Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $210.00 to $192.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.24% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.38.

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Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $194.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,109,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,397. The company has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.89 and a 200-day moving average of $181.05.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $772,635,000 after acquiring an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.