Guggenheim Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Guggenheim from $205.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target points to a potential upside of 7.65% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.7 %

DRI stock opened at $204.37 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $205.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.