Brokerages Set Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Target Price at $225.82

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings 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 target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $225.6429.

A number of equities analysts have commented on DRI shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.8%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $173.24 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $184.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $159.67 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.31%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,839,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,824,996,000 after purchasing an additional 236,620 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,055,185 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,063,609,000 after buying an additional 284,814 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,071,746,000 after acquiring an additional 100,270 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $849,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,211 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,073,901 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $887,988,000 after acquiring an additional 75,701 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.