Bank of America Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $211.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.48% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,448. The trade was a 23.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.