Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $205.00 to $220.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on DRI. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $202.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.71 and a 200-day moving average of $195.12. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 62.89%.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.