BMO Capital Markets Lowers Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $205.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $215.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on DRI. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $184.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $155.18 and a one year high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.14.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $843,000. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 587,571 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $109,694,000 after acquiring an additional 30,909 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.