Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Lowered to $245.00 at Evercore ISI

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $250.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.54% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on DRI. UBS Group boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.00.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE DRI opened at $212.04 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $153.98 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.07 and a 200-day moving average of $205.58. The firm has a market cap of $24.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total value of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,139,189.50. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.