Sterne Agee Maintains Buy, $52 Target on Darden Restaurants

Sterne Agee reiterates its Buy rating and $52 target price on Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) on better insights after a disappointing pre-release.

Sterne Agee says, “Before the open on 12/6, DRI preannounced disappointing results ($0.13 cent miss vs. our $0.54 estimate), which drove a 12.4% decline in the stock. Following a brief conversation with management, we came away with better insights into the Company's 2H '12 guidance and measures to be taken to turn around Olive Garden's sales. While we are clearly disappointed by the Company's 2Q performance, we believe that shares mostly reflect investor concerns.”

DRI closed at $41.82 per share on Tuesday.