Why Darden Restaurants Is A More Attractive Stock Than It Was A Year Ago

Stephens remains on Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI's sidelines ahead of the restaurant operator’s https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/12/8819047

Stephens remains on Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI's sidelines ahead of the restaurant operator’s second-quarter earnings release Tuesday. However, the brokerage raised its price target to $75 from $66 on improving Olive Garden results.

“[D]espite our more positive outlook on casual dining heading into 2017, we believe most of the benefits referenced in our thesis on CD are already priced into the stock (up over +17 percent since the election),” analyst Will Slabaugh wrote in a note.

Olive Garden: Positive Catalyst For Darden

That said, Slabaugh noted that the Equal-Weight rated Darden shares are now a more attractive long-term investment than they were 12–18 months ago given the improved top line at Olive Garden, which stands out among recent trends in the industry.

Following first quarter earnings, Darden maintained its FY 2017 blended SSS growth estimate of +1.0 percent to +2.0 percent (vs. consensus of +1.8 percent) and raised FY 2017 adj. EPS guidance to a range of $3.87 to $3.97 (was $3.80 to $3.90).

At last check, shares of Darden Restaurants were down 0.32 percent to $75.29.