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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by research analysts at TD Cowen in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential upside of 7.66% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on DRI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $199.71 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $229.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.74. The firm has a market cap of $22.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $651,813,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,099,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $144,483,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $118,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.