Guggenheim Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Guggenheim from $205.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.06% from the company’s current price.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $207.43 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $193.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.56. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $210.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,729. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by 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.