Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Earns Buy Rating from BTIG Research

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $225.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.31% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on DRI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.89.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $203.96 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $208.08 and its 200 day moving average is $194.68. The stock has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its full‑year revenue and adjusted EPS outlook and reiterated capital returns, which supports investor confidence and upside potential. Reuters: Darden raises annual sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results: adjusted EPS roughly in line ($2.95) and revenues (~$3.35B) up ~5.9% YoY — modestly better than expectations on a reported basis, with comps helped by LongHorn and new restaurants. These operational beats underpin the stock’s resilience. PR Newswire: Q3 results & press release
• Positive Sentiment: Darden declared a $1.50 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend April 10), reinforcing the yield/cash‑return story that supports demand from income‑oriented investors. PR Newswire: Dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Brand-level strength: LongHorn Steakhouse led comps, and systemwide same‑store sales and unit growth were bright spots — a tangible growth driver for revenue and margin recovery. WSJ: Sales rise boosted by LongHorn
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reaction is mixed: some firms reaffirm ratings (Stephens kept an equal‑weight $205 PT) while others adjusted forecasts — overall tone is cautiously constructive but not uniformly bullish. Benzinga: analyst forecast changes
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP results were weighed by one‑time impairments and the wind‑down of Bahama Breeze locations; those charges cloud near‑term comparability and prompted the early pullback after the release. MarketBeat: Q3 earnings and impairments

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.