Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price raised by Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $194.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on DRI. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.24.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 14.7 %

NYSE DRI opened at $183.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.99. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $188.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value 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 trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,133,000 after buying an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. 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.