Citigroup Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $253.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $245.00 to $253.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.03% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.12.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded down $11.44 during trading on Monday, hitting $214.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 900,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,859. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $208.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.31. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $748,215,000 after buying an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after acquiring an additional 158,168 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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