Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Keeps “Hold” Rating at TD Cowen

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at TD Cowen in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $215.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Argus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded down $3.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $196.35. 762,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,341,161. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $229.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.04 and a 200 day moving average of $204.74. The stock has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,028.05. This represents a 34.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $923,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $3,313,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 224.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,910 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 293,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,083,000 after purchasing an additional 53,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $44,190,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.