Morgan Stanley Cuts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $236.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $238.00 to $236.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on DRI. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, December 8th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.93.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:DRI opened at $182.10 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $159.67 and a 12-month 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 market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.63.

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

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,000. Severin Investments LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.4% in the third quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,074,000. 93.64% of the stock is 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.