BTIG Research Has Lowered Expectations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price cut by BTIG Research from $235.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $206.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.14. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $155.18 and a one year high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,139,189.50. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. This represents a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Darden Restaurants

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.