Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives $223.57 Average Price Target from Analysts

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $223.75.

A number of research analysts recently commented on DRI shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded up $3.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $190.18. 69,864 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,348,000. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.66. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 15,865 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,296,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,734 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 74,856 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $15,511,000 after purchasing an additional 36,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 547.7% in the 1st quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 4,534 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.