BTIG Research Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $235.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.16% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on DRI. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Argus upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.52.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE DRI opened at $205.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $212.01 and a 200-day moving average of $204.76. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $229.76. The company has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last three months. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $923,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,313,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 293,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,083,000 after acquiring an additional 53,549 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $44,190,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,280,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains meaningful. Mizuho raised its price target to $245 from $235 and upgraded DRI to Outperform, citing upside from current levels. BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $235 target, while Bernstein maintained a Buy rating and a $230 target. Bernstein analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Darden reaffirmed fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, broadly consistent with analysts’ $11.28 consensus, reducing concerns that the quarterly miss signals a full-year outlook cut. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, or $6.48 annually, representing a yield of approximately 3.1%. Darden fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue increased 5.1% year over year to $3.20 billion, while portfolio-wide same-restaurant sales rose 3.1%. LongHorn Steakhouse was a relative strength, with same-store sales growth of 6.2%, supporting the company’s diversified brand portfolio.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional analysts offered balanced views: Stephens reaffirmed Equal Weight with a $220 target, and TD Cowen maintained Hold with a $215 target. BMO lowered its target to $220 from $225 but kept a Market Perform rating, indicating limited near-term conviction.
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure is the first-quarter revenue shortfall versus the approximately $3.21 billion consensus and weaker-than-expected earnings comparisons. Adjusted EPS of $2.05 was roughly in line with estimates but below some forecasts, while reported net income declined to $233.4 million from $257.8 million as food and labor costs increased.
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden, Darden’s largest concept, delivered only 1.1% same-store sales growth, highlighting slower casual-dining traffic and consumer pressure. That weakness appears to be outweighing the revenue growth, dividend, reaffirmed guidance, and favorable analyst targets in the current trading session. CNBC Darden earnings report

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.