Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $223.5714.

A number of research firms recently commented on DRI. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE DRI opened at $185.64 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $21.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.94 and a 200-day moving average of $198.24. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $159.67 and a 1-year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued 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 for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $849,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,211 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $153,977,000 after buying an additional 629,669 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $417,935,000 after buying an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,980,000 after purchasing an additional 579,759 shares in the last quarter. 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.