Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Eighteen equities 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 4.1%

NYSE DRI opened at $184.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.14. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $155.18 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total transaction of $1,514,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $843,000. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $334,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $109,694,000 after buying an additional 30,909 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.