Piper Jaffray Upgrades Darden Restaurants (DRI) to Overweight

Piper Jaffray upgraded Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) from Neutral to Overweight with a price target of $78.00 (from $67.00).

Analyst Nicole Miller Regan commented, "We are upgrading DRI shares to Overweight from Neutral. We are now confident in this restaurant operating model given the fully formed management team and expect consistency in leadership to drive sustainable outperformance of the Darden brands. Current momentum is driven by relevant brand-specific value propositions that are in turn supported by a strong operations focus. We are upgrading DRI shares to Overweight (vs. Neutral prior) while raising our price target to $78 (vs. $67 prior) based on ~9x (unchanged) our FY18E EBITDA. Each 1x turn in EBITDA multiple equates to ~$8/shares. A key catalyst remains leverage in terms of scale, data analytics, strategic planning and a results-oriented culture."

The firm maintained FY 2016 EPS at $3.51 and raised FY 2017 EPS from $3.86 to $3.99.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Darden Restaurants click here. For more ratings news on Darden Restaurants click here.

Shares of Darden Restaurants closed at $63.28 yesterday.

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