Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $222.00 to $230.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.81% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on DRI. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.04.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.6%

DRI stock traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $205.70. 726,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,495,550. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.68. The firm has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the sale, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

More Darden Restaurants News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and guidance lift — DRI reported revenue up ~5.9% YoY and EPS roughly in line/just ahead of estimates, and management raised full‑year revenue and adjusted EPS guidance, which supports near-term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst price-target raises — Several firms (Barclays, KeyCorp, Robert W. Baird, Stephens, Wells Fargo and BTIG among others) boosted targets and/or maintained favorable ratings after the report, providing buy‑side momentum. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns support valuation — Darden continues aggressive buybacks and pays a ~2.9% yield with dividend growth; MarketBeat highlights institutional accumulation and remaining buyback capacity, which underpins shares. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst stances still present — while several firms raised targets, some re‑affirmed neutral/equal‑weight ratings and a few noted valuation/competitive considerations; expect varied brokerage commentary to keep intraday volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: One‑time charges and brand impairment — Management recorded impairments and one‑offs tied to Bahama Breeze (and a weather-related impact), which weakened GAAP results; these items add short-term noise and raise questions about conversion costs for closed locations. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Risk/near-term headwinds flagged — Some commentary highlights building risks (margins, weather, cyclicality), meaning upside could be tempered if same‑store momentum slows or costs accelerate. Read More.

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.