Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $232.82

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $232.82.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 865.0% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,259 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,259,000 after purchasing an additional 52,222 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,578.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 76,240 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after buying an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $229.70 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $211.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.36. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $233.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $25.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 11.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.34%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates dining brands serving a range of cuisines and occasions. Its portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

The company traces its roots to 1938, when founder Bill Darden opened a restaurant in Georgia. It later established the Red Lobster chain, which it operated for decades before selling the brand in 2014.