Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, KeyCorp Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective upped by KeyCorp from $228.00 to $237.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.24% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on DRI. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.50.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of DRI opened at $218.95 on Thursday. 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 has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $229.76. The firm has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $209.01 and its 200-day moving average is $204.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.