Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $190.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $175.00 to $190.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential downside of 4.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.44.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 5.6 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $198.66 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $203.47. The stock has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.