Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $175.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price lifted by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 5.60% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. Wedbush raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $1.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $185.39. 1,139,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,242,133. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $188.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.99. The company has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.