Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $205.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.63.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $203.96 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.68. The stock has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at $3,787,992. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Darden Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results slightly beat expectations: adjusted EPS of $2.95 (vs. ~$2.94 consensus) and revenue of $3.35B (vs. ~$3.33B), with systemwide comps up ~4.2% and strength at LongHorn. This supports the view of steady operational momentum. Darden Restaurants Reports Fiscal 2026 Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full‑year sales and adjusted EPS outlook (guidance implies roughly 9.5% topline growth including an extra fiscal week and adjusted EPS ~$10.57–$10.67), which underpins upside to estimates. Darden Restaurants raises annual sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return and balance‑sheet actions remain supportive: quarterly dividend declared and ongoing buybacks cited by management; analysts and MarketBeat note strong cash flow and institutional accumulation. Darden Restaurants Has the Growth and Cash Flow to Hit New Highs
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings‑call transcript and slide deck provide detail on brand mix, unit growth (+31 net units) and the Bahama Breeze plan — useful for modeling but already partially priced in. Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP results were pressured by one‑time impairments and closures related to Bahama Breeze; caution that these one‑offs compress GAAP margins near term and create execution/termination costs. Earnings Report / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/competitive and stock‑specific risks flagged by some commentators — including weather impacts, margin pressure and the view that DRI has lagged the Nasdaq — which could cap near‑term multiple expansion. Solid Q3, But Risks Are Building

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.