Guggenheim Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $235.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.00% from the company’s current price.

DRI has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore downgraded Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE:DRI traded down $4.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $202.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 566,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,929. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $212.01 and a 200-day moving average of $204.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 881.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 47,136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,710,000 after buying an additional 42,332 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 118.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 3,315 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.9% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,408 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,440,000 after acquiring an additional 6,830 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 637.5% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 249,346 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,368,000 after purchasing an additional 215,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $1,355,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Mizuho raised its price target to $245 and assigned an “outperform” rating, while Guggenheim and BTIG reaffirmed “buy” ratings with $235 targets. Bernstein also maintained a “buy” rating and a $230 target, citing resilient operating trends and diversified concepts. Bernstein analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Darden reaffirmed fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, broadly consistent with analyst expectations, and continued to point to sales growth, share repurchases and stable capital returns. Darden guidance and Yard House expansion
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, or $6.48 annualized, representing a yield of roughly 3.1% based on the cited share price. Yard House also plans 13 openings, supporting longer-term unit growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views were mixed: Stephens reiterated “equal weight” with a $220 target, while BMO lowered its target to $220 and maintained “market perform.” TD Cowen also kept a “hold” rating with a $215 target.
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders elected the board and approved the existing governance structure, removing a potential source of uncertainty but providing no immediate strategic change. Darden shareholder meeting
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue increased 5.1% year over year to $3.20 billion but fell slightly short of the roughly $3.21 billion consensus. Adjusted EPS of $2.05 was reported as meeting some estimates, though other data providers characterized it as a minor miss versus $2.06 expectations. CNBC Darden earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability weakened as higher food and labor costs pushed reported net income lower year over year. Portfolio same-restaurant sales rose 3.1%, but Olive Garden growth slowed to 1.1%, overshadowing stronger 6.2% growth at LongHorn Steakhouse.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.