Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Wedbush from $220.00 to $235.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants' Q1 2026 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.60 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.93 EPS.
DRI has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.08.
Read Our Latest Report on Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5 %
Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $1.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $207.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,226,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,391. The business's 50-day moving average is $193.09 and its 200 day moving average is $177.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $210.47.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,019,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.
About Darden Restaurants
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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