Robert W. Baird Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $215.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.89.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $203.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $208.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.68. The stock has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 98.5% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,206,000 after acquiring an additional 31,815 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 164.1% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth approximately $2,536,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth $2,816,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its full‑year revenue and adjusted EPS outlook and reiterated capital returns, which supports investor confidence and upside potential. Reuters: Darden raises annual sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results: adjusted EPS roughly in line ($2.95) and revenues (~$3.35B) up ~5.9% YoY — modestly better than expectations on a reported basis, with comps helped by LongHorn and new restaurants. These operational beats underpin the stock’s resilience. PR Newswire: Q3 results & press release
• Positive Sentiment: Darden declared a $1.50 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend April 10), reinforcing the yield/cash‑return story that supports demand from income‑oriented investors. PR Newswire: Dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Brand-level strength: LongHorn Steakhouse led comps, and systemwide same‑store sales and unit growth were bright spots — a tangible growth driver for revenue and margin recovery. WSJ: Sales rise boosted by LongHorn
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reaction is mixed: some firms reaffirm ratings (Stephens kept an equal‑weight $205 PT) while others adjusted forecasts — overall tone is cautiously constructive but not uniformly bullish. Benzinga: analyst forecast changes
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP results were weighed by one‑time impairments and the wind‑down of Bahama Breeze locations; those charges cloud near‑term comparability and prompted the early pullback after the release. MarketBeat: Q3 earnings and impairments

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.