Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Cut to $180.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Barclays from $187.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.98% from the stock’s previous close.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $181.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.81.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.9 %

DRI stock opened at $148.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.99 and a 200-day moving average of $159.80.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.