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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price raised by KeyCorp from $225.00 to $226.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on DRI. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $202.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.09 and its 200 day moving average is $194.66. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at $3,787,992. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 in the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,486,434,000 after buying an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $144,483,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $153,977,000 after acquiring an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Q3 results and guidance lift — Darden reported $2.95 EPS (in line/just above consensus), revenue of $3.35B (+5.9% YoY) and raised its full‑year outlook for sales and adjusted EPS, citing strength at LongHorn and unit growth. Management’s guidance lift is the primary catalyst for optimism. PR Newswire: Q3 Results & Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lift targets and ratings — A wave of firms raised targets (Citigroup to $238, Deutsche Bank to $230, Barclays to $232, KeyCorp, BTIG, others), with several reaffirming Buy/Overweight ratings. That collective upward revision signals stronger Street momentum behind the stock. Benzinga: Analysts Increase Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared & capital returns — Darden announced a quarterly dividend (covers April record / May pay date) and continues significant buybacks; MarketBeat highlights strong cash flow and share‑count reduction as supportive of future returns. That makes the stock more attractive to income and valuation‑focused investors. MarketBeat: Growth & Cash Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts available — Management held the Q3 call and released transcripts/slides (useful for digging into LFLs, unit‑economics, weather impacts and cadence of buybacks). Investors should review the call for color on margins and FY26 assumptions. MSN: Q3 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: One‑time charges and brand exit — Darden took impairments and other one‑offs tied to the Bahama Breeze review and planned closures/conversions; GAAP results look weaker as a result. These items compress near‑term margins and add uncertainty around restructuring costs. MarketBeat: One‑offs & Impairments
• Negative Sentiment: Risks flagged by some commentary — A few writeups note building risks (weather, commodity/labor pressure, and noise from restructuring) that could press margins even as revenue growth remains healthy. Seeking Alpha: Risks Building

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.