Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, KeyCorp Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $220.00 to $230.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. KeyCorp's price target indicates a potential upside of 6.13% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on DRI. TD Securities increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.77.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.2%

DRI stock opened at $216.71 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $202.85 and its 200 day moving average is $192.15. 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 cap of $25.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $218.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares in the company, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,206.56. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 9,006 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,871,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth $18,906,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,138 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,196 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,650,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 22,444 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,663,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. 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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