Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $225.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential downside of 0.34% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on DRI. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $207.65.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $225.76. The stock had a trading volume of 65,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,755. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $226.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total transaction of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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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