Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by investment analysts at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $175.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential downside of 6.97% from the stock’s previous close.

DRI has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.33.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $188.11 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.12. The company has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.82 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.