Darden Restaurants’ (DRI) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at TD Cowen

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by research analysts at TD Cowen in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.95% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on DRI. Argus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.09.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $6.86 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $206.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,953,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,341,457. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.73. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.05. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.17, for a total value of $463,386.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,028.05. This trade represents a 34.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,490. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Severin Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Darden Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Darden reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 outlook, including adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, broadly consistent with analyst expectations. The company also declared its quarterly dividend, supporting the investment case for income-oriented shareholders. Darden fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter revenue increased 5.1% year over year to approximately $3.20 billion, while adjusted EPS rose to $2.05 from $1.97 a year earlier. Darden also highlighted continued expansion, with Yard House targeting 13 openings. Darden reports fiscal first-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: Same-restaurant sales grew 3.1% across the portfolio. LongHorn Steakhouse was a standout, posting 6.2% comparable-sales growth, while the company’s broader sales trends remained positive despite a more challenging casual-dining environment.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue narrowly missed the roughly $3.21 billion consensus estimate, and EPS was either in line with the $2.05 consensus or slightly below estimates citing $2.06. The small misses reduced the market’s enthusiasm for an otherwise decent quarter. Darden revenue misses expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Net profit declined year over year to about $233 million as higher food, labor, and other operating expenses pressured margins. This earnings deterioration outweighed the reported sales growth. Darden profit slips on higher expenses
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden, Darden’s largest brand, delivered only 1.1% same-store sales growth, signaling softer customer traffic and raising concerns about the company’s key growth engine. Olive Garden reports slower growth

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc (NYSE: DRI) is a full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It operates and franchises a portfolio of dining brands serving a range of cuisines, price points and occasions, with restaurants primarily located in the United States and select international markets.

Its restaurant portfolio includes Olive Garden, an Italian-American dining chain; LongHorn Steakhouse; Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen; Yard House; The Capital Grille; Seasons 52; Bahama Breeze; Eddie V’s; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; and Chuy’s.