KeyCorp Cuts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $240.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price cut by KeyCorp from $245.00 to $240.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.92.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $212.62 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $155.18 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $207.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.85.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 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 year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total transaction of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,027,479.15. This trade represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the second quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.