Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Seaport Research Partners

Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore downgraded Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $208.57 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76. The stock has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $210.70 and its 200-day moving average is $204.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31.

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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,128,000 after purchasing an additional 322,079 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,212,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $629,736,000 after buying an additional 991,230 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $537,001,000 after buying an additional 251,246 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 valued at $248,083,000 after buying 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: Oppenheimer raised its price target to $245 from $235 and reiterated an “outperform” rating, implying roughly 17.5% upside from the referenced share price. The firm cited an improving earnings trajectory and accelerating Olive Garden trends. Oppenheimer expects Darden stock to rise
• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Global initiated coverage with a “buy” rating, adding a new bullish analyst view to Darden’s investor narrative. Seaport Global initiates coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also expects DRI’s stock price to rise, reinforcing the broader analyst optimism around the restaurant operator. Morgan Stanley expects Darden stock to rise
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are pricing in an approximately 8% potential move around the September 24 earnings release. Darden’s shares were already up 17.2% year to date in the referenced report, reflecting confidence in customer demand and operating trends. Options traders expect an 8 percent move
• Neutral Sentiment: Darden is expected to report quarterly earnings on Thursday, making the upcoming results, comparable sales and fiscal 2027 outlook the next major catalysts for DRI. Darden upcoming quarterly earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Gordon Haskett raised its price target to $230 from $225 but maintained a “hold” rating, suggesting more limited upside than the bullish targets. Gordon Haskett adjusts Darden price target

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.