Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $230.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on DRI. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Argus cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1%

DRI stock opened at $193.41 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $155.18 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $202.64 and a 200 day moving average of $206.17.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,936 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.2% in the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 3,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,633 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.