Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given Outperform Rating at Oppenheimer

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by analysts at Oppenheimer in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $200.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $182.00. Oppenheimer’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.62% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $187.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $188.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.25.

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after purchasing an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.