BTIG Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target raised by analysts at BTIG Research from $225.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.49% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on DRI. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.33.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $212.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $222.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $201.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.89. The company has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,128,000 after acquiring an additional 322,079 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after purchasing an additional 43,965 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $771,020,000 after purchasing an additional 68,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,736,000 after purchasing an additional 991,230 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Darden raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, an 8% increase, signaling confidence in cash flow and shareholder returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program, which should help support earnings per share over time. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Results were driven by brand strength, especially LongHorn Steakhouse, and management highlighted comparable-sales momentum and record-year performance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Darden’s revenue missed expectations by a small margin, and some commentary noted weaker-than-expected same-store sales at Olive Garden and fine-dining locations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: FY2027 EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35 came in below the Street’s estimate, suggesting margin or cost pressure ahead. Article Title

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.