Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given Market Perform Rating at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.30.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $207.27 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $187.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.36.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 62.89%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 in the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,463,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $849,726,000 after buying an additional 1,102,211 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $153,977,000 after acquiring an additional 629,669 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $417,935,000 after acquiring an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 192.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $191,980,000 after acquiring an additional 579,759 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.