Truist Financial Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $195.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by Truist Financial from $185.00 to $195.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.59% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on DRI. Barclays lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.49. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.