Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives $227.15 Consensus PT from Analysts

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $225.8214.

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $178.31 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $157.89 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $20.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.77.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.