NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Analysts at Jefferies raised their price target on Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) - Get Report to $63 from $50 and upped their full year 2015 earnings estimates to $2.47 per share from $2.28 per share, and raised their full year 2016 estimates to $2.72 per share from $2.50 per share on Tuesday morning.

The firm said it adjusted its numbers on the restaurant company, whose brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, based on the company's cost cutting initiatives and higher operating results.

"The company provided an update on its non-guest facing cost efficiency programs, which are now targeted to total $90-$100 mm cumulative through F'17 (and there could be more). This will likely show up roughly split above rest level margins (food/operating expense) and below in the SG&A line. F'16 will likely see the largest contribution of $40-$50 mm, which is about $0.25-$0.35 per share annualized and comprises much of our est. increase for next year as our key operating performance metrics did not change much beyond this," Jefferies said in an analyst note.

"The company is also in the early stages of evaluating real estate monetization, which will likely come in smaller chunks (rather than a REIT) and go towards debt pay down over time," the firm continued.

Shares of Darden Restaurants up 0.01% to $69.23 at the start of trading on Tuesday. 

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC (DRI) a BUY. This is driven by a few notable strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, compelling growth in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 7.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 6.9%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and greatly outperformed compared to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry average. The net income increased by 22.0% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $109.70 million to $133.80 million.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.68, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. Even though the company has a strong debt-to-equity ratio, the quick ratio of 0.37 is very weak and demonstrates a lack of ability to pay short-term obligations.
• Powered by its strong earnings growth of 55.38% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 35.39% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
• DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC reported lower earnings of $1.38 versus $1.80 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.32 versus $1.38).
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: DRI Ratings Report