Guggenheim Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective raised by Guggenheim from $205.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.65% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $204.37 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.85. The stock has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $205.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total value of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.