Argus Cuts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $175.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target cut by analysts at Argus from $186.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Argus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.05% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on DRI. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned 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 $174.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $152.11 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.48. The stock has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 164,249 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,524,000 after buying an additional 5,703 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.8% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 59,337 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 420.7% during the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 9,404 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598 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.