Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $238.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup from $235.00 to $238.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.06% from the stock’s current price.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.15.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5%

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $203.32. 1,402,502 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,506,611. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $208.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.68.

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,486,434,000 after buying an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $144,483,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $153,977,000 after acquiring an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,301,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Darden Restaurants News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets and ratings after the Q3 print, signaling renewed buy‑side interest (Deutsche Bank raised to $230, Barclays to $232, KeyCorp to $226, BTIG reaffirmed buy at $225). These upgrades increase upside expectations for the stock. Benzinga analyst roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and outlook: DRI reported $2.95 EPS and ~$3.35B revenue, raised full‑year sales/earnings guidance, and management highlighted resilient comps (LongHorn strength) — fundamentals that support higher estimates and analyst bullishness. PR Newswire: Q3 results & guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return remains a tailwind: Darden declared a quarterly dividend ($1.50/share) and continues buybacks (meaningful share reduction pace), supporting yield (~2.9%) and EPS accretion. This attracts income and total‑return investors. PR Newswire: dividend & buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Industry/coverage note: MarketBeat and other analysts highlight Darden’s cash flow, institutional accumulation and potential to reach new highs given continued margin recovery and franchise conversions. MarketBeat: growth & cash flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Some shops moderated expectations or kept neutral/equal‑weight stances despite raising targets (Wells Fargo, Stephens, Robert W. Baird) — indicating cautious optimism rather than broad conviction. Benzinga coverage
• Negative Sentiment: One‑time charges and brand actions: management took impairments and is exiting/closing Bahama Breeze locations, which pressured GAAP results and created near‑term noise despite conversions to other formats. That uncertainty likely weighs on sentiment. MarketBeat: Bahama Breeze impairments
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term volatility: the stock slipped after the release (early weakness around technical levels) and some commentary flagged operational risks (weather, one‑offs), which can amplify intraday selling. Reuters: post‑earnings market reaction

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.