Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $230.00 to $252.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Truist Financial's target price suggests a potential upside of 12.91% from the company's previous close.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.69.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE DRI traded down $1.59 on Wednesday, hitting $223.19. 574,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,323,288. 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 $26.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $206.56 and a 200-day moving average of $195.04.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued 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 50.68% and a net margin of 8.96%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,613 shares of company stock worth $5,121,492. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $830,666,000 after purchasing an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $530,121,000 after acquiring an additional 39,189 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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