Evercore ISI Has Lowered Expectations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $240.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on DRI. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.8%

DRI traded down $1.51 on Tuesday, hitting $178.39. The company had a trading volume of 104,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,272. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.66. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $159.67 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results 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). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.