Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $108.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior target price of $95.67. Argus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.89% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. ValuEngine upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 1st. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Longbow Research assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.70.
Shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE DRI) traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $95.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,720,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,241. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $71.01 and a twelve month high of $98.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $11,957.97, a PE ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 162.3% in the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 121,896 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,025,000 after purchasing an additional 75,421 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 589.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Equity Partners LLC now owns 41,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 35,250 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 26.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 42,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,694 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,327,000. Finally, Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,061,980 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $83,663,000 after purchasing an additional 43,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.45% of the company’s stock.
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About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company. The Company owned and operated 1,536 restaurants through its subsidiaries in the United States and Canada, as of May 29, 2016. The Company’s segments include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining (which includes The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille (Eddie V’s)) and Other Business (which includes Yard House, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, consumer-packaged goods and franchise revenues).
