Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by analysts at Stephens in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $175.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 6.97% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.33.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.0 %

DRI opened at $188.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $191.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.15.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.82 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth 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 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.