Robert W. Baird Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $210.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $192.00 to $210.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.71% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on DRI. Bank of America increased their target price 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 initiated coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.84.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 5.6 %

DRI opened at $198.66 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $191.67 and its 200-day moving average is $176.31. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 173,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,357,000 after acquiring an additional 12,434 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $1,225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $322,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,175,000. 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.