Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $245.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $235.00 to $245.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on DRI. Weiss Ratings downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, September 11th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.87.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $206.74 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $229.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $210.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.61. 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 has a market cap of $23.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $1,846,637.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 18,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,915,354.02. The trade was a 32.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.32, for a total transaction of $226,795.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,197,257.28. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,128,000 after buying an additional 322,079 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $651,813,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $537,001,000 after acquiring an additional 251,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $248,083,000 after acquiring an additional 33,965 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently 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: Analysts remain constructive. Oppenheimer and Morgan Stanley analysts reportedly expect DRI’s stock price to rise, while Seaport Global initiated coverage with a Buy rating. The new coverage adds support to the bullish case for the restaurant operator. Oppenheimer analyst outlook Morgan Stanley analyst outlook Seaport Global Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth. Darden is expected to report quarterly earnings next week, with investors looking for continued sales and profit growth. The company’s most recent reported quarter delivered an earnings beat and double-digit year-over-year revenue growth, providing a constructive baseline ahead of the release. Darden quarterly earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets imply elevated volatility. Options traders are pricing in an approximately 8% potential move after the earnings announcement. This signals that a meaningful reaction is expected, but it does not indicate whether the move will be higher or lower. Options market earnings outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings-beat expectations are cautious. Zacks says DRI does not currently have the typical combination of factors associated with a likely earnings beat. That caution, combined with the recent 4.3% slide, may be weighing on sentiment ahead of the report. Zacks earnings expectations

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.