Morgan Stanley Boosts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $217.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $209.00 to $217.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.84.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 5.6 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $198.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $191.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.31. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $203.47. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % 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 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.