Brokerages Set Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Target Price at $227.15

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $225.8214.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Argus reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $178.18 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $157.89 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the second quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.