Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $212.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target upped by analysts at Piper Sandler from $208.00 to $212.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 0.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. BTIG Research upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore cut Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.68.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $211.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.89. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $222.56. The company has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research raised its price target on Darden to $235 from $225 and reiterated a buy rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels. BTIG Research Raises Price Target on Darden Restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim also lifted its target to $235 from $230 with a buy rating, while Robert W. Baird and Stephens raised their targets to $220 and $216, respectively, reinforcing a broadly constructive analyst view. Multiple Analyst Target Raises for Darden Restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Darden reported fiscal Q4 EPS of $3.66, topping estimates, with revenue up 13.7% year over year and brand strength led by LongHorn Steakhouse and steady demand across the portfolio. Darden Restaurants Q4 and Full-Year Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company boosted its quarterly dividend 8% to $1.62 per share and authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in cash generation and shareholder returns. Dividend Increase and Buyback Authorization

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.