UPDATE: Oppenheimer Reiterates Outperform Rating, Raises PT on Darden Restaurants on Attractive Risk/Reward Opportunity

In a report published Wednesday, Oppenheimer analyst Brian Bittner reiterated an Outperform rating on Darden Restaurants DRI, and raised the price target from $54.00 to $58.00. In the report, Oppenheimer noted, “We believe the stock provides an attractive risk/reward opportunity with earnings expectations finally positioned for upside and the dividend yield about to creep above 4%. A sustained fundamental improvement remains a controversial topic, but easy comparisons and management's lowered bar have positioned DRI for a high probability of success. While 16x forward P/E is not cheap, Street assumptions of flat F14E EPS growth represents a ‘kitchen sink' scenario, based on our analysis. We would be buyers into Friday's F4Q13 print and raise our price target to $58, from $54.” Darden Restaurants closed on Tuesday at $53.13.