Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at TD Cowen

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities research analysts at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $215.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.65% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective 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. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.09.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $211.51. 343,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,332,137. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $211.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.73. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76. The company has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. This trade represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $1,846,637.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. The trade was a 32.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,790,128,000 after purchasing an additional 322,079 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,736,000 after acquiring an additional 991,230 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $537,001,000 after acquiring an additional 251,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $248,083,000 after acquiring an additional 33,965 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 5.1% year over year, while LongHorn Steakhouse continued to show strong momentum. Bank of America raised its estimate for LongHorn’s same-store sales growth to 6.5%, citing market-share gains and favorable category trends. Darden sales momentum strengthens despite casual-dining slowdown
• Positive Sentiment: Darden reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 outlook, including adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, a range that brackets the $11.28 analyst consensus. The company also declared its quarterly dividend. Darden fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $2.05 per share, broadly in line with the $2.05 consensus cited by several outlets, but one Zacks estimate of $2.06 classified the result as a slight miss. TD Cowen reiterated its “hold” rating and maintained a $215 price target. Darden misses first-quarter estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Reported profit fell to approximately $233.4 million, or $2.04 per share, from $257.8 million, or $2.19 per share, a year earlier. Higher food and labor expenses pressured margins despite the sales increase. Darden profit slips on higher expenses
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden, Darden’s largest brand, reported slower same-store sales growth, and the company’s revenue performance was described as below expectations by some analysts. The combination of softer casual-dining demand and cost inflation is the main reason investors reacted negatively. Darden stock falls as Olive Garden growth slows

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.