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Fly News Breaks for September 20, 2019
DRI
Sep 20, 2019 | 09:32 EDT
Loop Capital analyst Lynne Collier kept her Buy rating and $140 price target on Darden after its "mixed" Q1 results, saying that earnings beat expectations but 0.9% blended comps increase was below the consensus 1.3% due to weakness in the company's smaller brands, including Cheddar's, Seasons 52, and Bahama Breeze. The analyst notes that despite the shortfall in same-store sales, Darden still maintains a "strong positive" gap in comps relative to the industry as it captures market share, calling the stock her "highest conviction name" in the industry due to economies of scale, significant free cash flows, and shareholder capital returns.