Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Stephens from $205.00 to $210.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.96% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on DRI. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.11.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $203.96 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.68. 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 has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about 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

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.