Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.34% from the company's previous close.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE DRI traded down $1.70 on Wednesday, hitting $223.08. 764,019 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,324,052. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $206.56 and a 200-day moving average of $195.04. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $227.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 50.68%. The business'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 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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