Robert W. Baird Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $215.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.91% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on DRI. Mizuho raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $207.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $202.99 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap 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 50-day moving average of $208.09 and a 200 day moving average of $194.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

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

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Capital World Investors raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,128,000 after buying an additional 322,079 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after acquiring an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,486,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,613,781 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,071,746,000 after acquiring an additional 100,270 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $771,020,000 after purchasing an additional 68,245 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants News Summary

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

About Darden Restaurants

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.