Analysts Set Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) PT at $225.82

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $225.6429.

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 32.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $849,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,211 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $153,977,000 after purchasing an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $417,935,000 after purchasing an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $191,980,000 after buying an additional 579,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $180.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.13. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $159.67 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

About Darden Restaurants

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.