Moran Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 18,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,472,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 136.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 221 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $202.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $181.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.12. The stock has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.64. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27.

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). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

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.