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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target boosted by Mizuho from $235.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.45% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. 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 research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.52.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $206.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $229.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $651,813,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 251,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $248,083,000 after purchasing an additional 33,965 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Darden Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Darden reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of approximately $3.20 billion, up 5.1% year over year, while adjusted earnings of $2.05 per share were broadly in line with expectations. Same-restaurant sales rose 3.1% across the portfolio. Darden fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, close to the analyst consensus of $11.28, reducing the risk of a broader outlook reset. Darden also said Yard House plans to open 13 locations. Darden reaffirms fiscal 2027 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, or $6.48 annualized, representing a yield of about 3.1%. Shareholders also backed the existing board and governance structure at the annual meeting. Darden shareholder meeting results
• Neutral Sentiment: LongHorn Steakhouse remained a relative bright spot, posting 6.2% same-store sales growth, while management continues to benefit from sales growth across its restaurant segments.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell short of the roughly $3.21 billion consensus estimate, and higher food and labor costs pressured profits. Reported net income declined to about $233 million from $258 million a year earlier. Darden profit declines on higher expenses
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden’s same-store sales growth slowed to 1.1%, raising concerns about consumer traffic and the durability of growth at Darden’s flagship brand. The combination of the revenue miss, weaker Olive Garden momentum and margin pressure is driving the negative investor reaction despite the reaffirmed outlook. Darden stock falls as Olive Garden growth slows

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.