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

Key Points

• KeyCorp raised its price target on Darden Restaurants from $226 to $228 and kept an overweight rating, implying about 9.6% upside from the prior close.
• The stock was up 2.0% to $207.97, while several other analysts also lifted targets; the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average target of $226.32.
• Darden’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $2.95 and revenue of $3.35 billion, both slightly above estimates and revenue up 5.9% year over year.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at KeyCorp from $226.00 to $228.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. KeyCorp's price target points to a potential upside of 9.63% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Stephens raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.32.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $4.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.97. The company had a trading volume of 382,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,376,941. The stock has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $17,438,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,151,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,964,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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