Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 946,880 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the previous session’s volume of 1,318,946 shares.The stock last traded at $193.98 and had previously closed at $189.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Argus dropped 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. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.39.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.17.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bowman & Co S.C. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the second quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.