Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) Market Perform Rating Reiterated at Raymond James Financial

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on DRI. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $207.00 target price (down previously from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.8%

DRI stock opened at $208.68 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $186.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total value of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,165,474.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,512 shares of company stock valued at $3,468,016 over the last three months. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the second quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 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.