Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Receives “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $235.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.71% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.42.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock traded down $5.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $201.36. 277,065 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,029. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76. The firm has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $212.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, 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 directly owned 8,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,799,490. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,028.05. This trade represents a 34.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 881.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 47,136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,710,000 after acquiring an additional 42,332 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 118.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 3,315 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,408 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,440,000 after purchasing an additional 6,830 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 637.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 249,346 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,368,000 after purchasing an additional 215,537 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $1,355,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Mizuho raised its price target to $245 and assigned an “outperform” rating, while Guggenheim and BTIG reaffirmed “buy” ratings with $235 targets. Bernstein also maintained a “buy” rating and a $230 target, citing resilient operating trends and diversified concepts. Bernstein analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Darden reaffirmed fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, broadly consistent with analyst expectations, and continued to point to sales growth, share repurchases and stable capital returns. Darden guidance and Yard House expansion
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, or $6.48 annualized, representing a yield of roughly 3.1% based on the cited share price. Yard House also plans 13 openings, supporting longer-term unit growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views were mixed: Stephens reiterated “equal weight” with a $220 target, while BMO lowered its target to $220 and maintained “market perform.” TD Cowen also kept a “hold” rating with a $215 target.
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders elected the board and approved the existing governance structure, removing a potential source of uncertainty but providing no immediate strategic change. Darden shareholder meeting
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue increased 5.1% year over year to $3.20 billion but fell slightly short of the roughly $3.21 billion consensus. Adjusted EPS of $2.05 was reported as meeting some estimates, though other data providers characterized it as a minor miss versus $2.06 expectations. CNBC Darden earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability weakened as higher food and labor costs pushed reported net income lower year over year. Portfolio same-restaurant sales rose 3.1%, but Olive Garden growth slowed to 1.1%, overshadowing stronger 6.2% growth at LongHorn Steakhouse.

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.