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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Guggenheim in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $235.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective points to a potential upside of 14.91% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on DRI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Argus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.52.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $204.51. 86,618 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,334,408. The firm has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $212.01 and its 200-day moving average is $204.76. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $229.76.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura Williamson sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total value of $90,766.27. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,271.04. This represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,028.05. The trade was a 34.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $923,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,313,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 293,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,083,000 after purchasing an additional 53,549 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,190,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,280,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains meaningful. Mizuho raised its price target to $245 from $235 and upgraded DRI to Outperform, citing upside from current levels. BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $235 target, while Bernstein maintained a Buy rating and a $230 target. Bernstein analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Darden reaffirmed fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, broadly consistent with analysts’ $11.28 consensus, reducing concerns that the quarterly miss signals a full-year outlook cut. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, or $6.48 annually, representing a yield of approximately 3.1%. Darden fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue increased 5.1% year over year to $3.20 billion, while portfolio-wide same-restaurant sales rose 3.1%. LongHorn Steakhouse was a relative strength, with same-store sales growth of 6.2%, supporting the company’s diversified brand portfolio.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional analysts offered balanced views: Stephens reaffirmed Equal Weight with a $220 target, and TD Cowen maintained Hold with a $215 target. BMO lowered its target to $220 from $225 but kept a Market Perform rating, indicating limited near-term conviction.
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure is the first-quarter revenue shortfall versus the approximately $3.21 billion consensus and weaker-than-expected earnings comparisons. Adjusted EPS of $2.05 was roughly in line with estimates but below some forecasts, while reported net income declined to $233.4 million from $257.8 million as food and labor costs increased.
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden, Darden’s largest concept, delivered only 1.1% same-store sales growth, highlighting slower casual-dining traffic and consumer pressure. That weakness appears to be outweighing the revenue growth, dividend, reaffirmed guidance, and favorable analyst targets in the current trading session. CNBC Darden earnings report

About Darden Restaurants

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.