Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $200.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Stephens from $178.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Stephens' price objective points to a potential downside of 7.85% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on DRI. Barclays boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.92.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4%

DRI stock traded down $0.77 on Thursday, hitting $217.04. 1,329,353 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,325,243. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $220.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $205.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,688 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,053 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.