Darden price target raised to $165 from $160 at Raymond James

Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro raised the firm’s price target on Darden to $165 from $160 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company’s strong Q3 results reflected better than expected comps and traffic share gains, and Darden is well-positioned to navigate a less certain macro backdrop given its strong brand portfolio, best-in-class operators, and "ironclad" balance sheet and strong free cash flow profile, the analyst tells investors in a research note.