Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $209.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $193.00 to $209.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.07% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.44.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE:DRI traded down $5.96 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $181.63. The stock had a trading volume of 755,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,500. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.87 and a 200 day moving average of $157.34. The company has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $188.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $334,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,602,433.26. This represents a 11.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,320 shares of company stock worth $1,366,948 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after acquiring an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 205,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.