Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives $225.96 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $225.9630.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Saturday, September 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of DRI opened at $193.33 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $155.18 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.83 and its 200-day moving average is $206.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.