Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $195.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $188.00 to $195.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.59% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DRI. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.90 and its 200 day moving average is $153.49.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 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.