Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $230.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $218.00 to $230.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.02% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on DRI. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.27.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $221.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.84. The company has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $192,987,000 after buying an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $84,801,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $75,137,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,919,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.