Stephens Lowers Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $165.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Stephens from $170.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.90% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on DRI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.81.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.9 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $148.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.80.

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

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.