Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $235.00 to $238.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.24% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on DRI. Mizuho upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $202.99 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after buying an additional 3,613,781 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,483,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $153,977,000 after acquiring an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Darden Restaurants News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and guidance lift — Darden reported $2.95 EPS (in line/just above consensus), revenue of $3.35B (+5.9% YoY) and raised its full‑year outlook for sales and adjusted EPS, citing strength at LongHorn and unit growth. Management’s guidance lift is the primary catalyst for optimism. PR Newswire: Q3 Results & Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lift targets and ratings — A wave of firms raised targets (Citigroup to $238, Deutsche Bank to $230, Barclays to $232, KeyCorp, BTIG, others), with several reaffirming Buy/Overweight ratings. That collective upward revision signals stronger Street momentum behind the stock. Benzinga: Analysts Increase Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared & capital returns — Darden announced a quarterly dividend (covers April record / May pay date) and continues significant buybacks; MarketBeat highlights strong cash flow and share‑count reduction as supportive of future returns. That makes the stock more attractive to income and valuation‑focused investors. MarketBeat: Growth & Cash Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts available — Management held the Q3 call and released transcripts/slides (useful for digging into LFLs, unit‑economics, weather impacts and cadence of buybacks). Investors should review the call for color on margins and FY26 assumptions. MSN: Q3 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: One‑time charges and brand exit — Darden took impairments and other one‑offs tied to the Bahama Breeze review and planned closures/conversions; GAAP results look weaker as a result. These items compress near‑term margins and add uncertainty around restructuring costs. MarketBeat: One‑offs & Impairments
• Negative Sentiment: Risks flagged by some commentary — A few writeups note building risks (weather, commodity/labor pressure, and noise from restructuring) that could press margins even as revenue growth remains healthy. Seeking Alpha: Risks 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.