Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $221.00 and last traded at $220.4310, with a volume of 39297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $218.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Evercore lowered Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $204.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.43%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,271.04. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.