Darden Restaurants "outperform"

06/18/03 - Raymond James

NEW YORK, June 18 (New Ratings) — Analyst Bryan C Elliott of Raymond James reiterates his "outperform" rating on Darden Restaurants (DRI). The target price is set to $22.50.

In a research note published this afternoon, the analyst says that he prefers to maintain his earlier estimates for Darden Restaurants' 4Q03 earnings and May sales results. Raymond James expects the company to report flat sales results for its Red Lobster and Olive Garden units in May. The analyst expects the company to post normalized earnings and sales results by the winter season this year.