Morgan Stanley Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $238.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $238.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 28.77% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI opened at $184.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. 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 50 day simple moving average is $206.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.14. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $155.18 and a 1-year high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,132,006. This trade represents a 32.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $843,000. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.