Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Earns Market Perform Rating from Raymond James Financial

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $208.68 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $186.92 and its 200 day moving average is $194.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,512 shares of company stock valued at $3,468,016. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.