Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $229.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup from $223.00 to $229.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.55% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Securities raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $199.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $203.47. The company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,948.30. This trade represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $642,967,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,121,000 after acquiring an additional 772,907 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $48,919,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $40,048,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.