Oppenheimer analyst Brian Bittner assigned a Buy rating to Darden (NYSE: DRI) today and set a price target of $105. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $85.71.
Bittner said:
“DRI shares have underperformed this year—down 11% vs peers’ +14%. Almost all the stock decline has occurred this month as investors worry a SSS miss is coming in 4Q18 (ends May 27th). This dynamic has pulled down valuation and created an entry that makes DRI now one of our top picks for the rest of ’18. While this quarter’s trend isn’t catalytic, our now more bullish stance is supported by: 1) a view that SSS can accelerate after this quarter’s transitory headwinds dissipate, and 2) our analysis suggesting upcoming earnings guidance for fiscal ’19 has tools to nicely satisfy consensus.”
According to TipRanks.com, Bittner is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 11.2% and a 68.0% success rate. Bittner covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Restaurant Brands International, Jack In The Box Inc, and Cheesecake Factory.
Darden has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $104.60.
See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>
Darden’s market cap is currently $10.61B and has a P/E ratio of 19.89. The company has a Price to Book ratio of 4.99.
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator in the United States.
