UPDATE: RBC Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Darden Restaurants on Modest Upside, Long-Term Opportunities

In a report published Friday, RBC Capital Markets analyst David Palmer initiated coverage on

with a Sector Perform rating and $55.00 price target. In the report, RBC Capital Markets noted, “We see modest upside in Darden's stock. While there is reason to expect modest near term sales improvement, we see a more significant sales and earnings turn in FY15 at the earliest. Fixing value perceptions in a low-growth industry likely will be a multi-year project. While we do not see a ‘silver bullet', we do believe Darden has long-term opportunities in overhead, productivity and media efficiency.” Darden Restaurants closed on Thursday at $52.14