Darden Restaurants (DRI) – Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) in the last few weeks:

• 12/23/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $193.00 to $209.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at KeyCorp from $194.00 to $200.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $192.00 to $206.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.. They now have a $200.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $182.00.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Wedbush from $200.00 to $220.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $180.00 to $194.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $165.00 to $175.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Stephens from $164.00 to $175.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Bank of America Co. from $195.00 to $211.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $195.00 to $200.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $190.00 to $205.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $195.00 to $210.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/19/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens. They now have a $164.00 price target on the stock.
• 12/10/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target lowered by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $175.00 to $165.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
• 12/9/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens. They now have a $164.00 price target on the stock.
• 12/5/2024 – Darden Restaurants is now covered by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock.
• 12/4/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $209.00 to $206.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $186.51 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $189.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $171.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth approximately $2,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,504 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $473,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 22.9% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 33,417 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.0% in the second quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,061 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.