Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target upped by research analysts at Barclays from $192.00 to $206.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.81% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on DRI. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $188.88. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 99.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.