Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $245.00 at Citigroup

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $238.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.44% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.16.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.06 on Monday, hitting $210.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 576,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,975. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $198.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.72.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,404,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,319,000 after buying an additional 5,830 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 8,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,743,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.