Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Rating Increased to Outperform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $215.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $180.00. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.34% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $186.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $176.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.74. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $189.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,275 shares of company stock worth $5,913,038. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 28,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,336,000 after purchasing an additional 6,258 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 71,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,797 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.