Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by BTIG Research in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $235.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.10% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $207.79 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $212.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.76. The company has a market capitalization of $23.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31.

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,864.65. The trade was a 70.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $923,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,313,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 22.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $44,190,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $3,280,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines 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

About Darden Restaurants

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.