Recent Research Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Darden Restaurants (DRI)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 24th, 2024

A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI):

9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at KeyCorp from $170.00 to $194.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $180.00 to $192.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $176.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $188.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Wedbush from $170.00 to $200.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants was upgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating. They now have a $205.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $165.00.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $159.00 to $177.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $165.00 to $175.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants was downgraded by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating. They now have a $180.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $190.00.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $165.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Stephens from $159.00 to $164.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at BTIG Research from $175.00 to $195.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Bank of America Co. from $184.00 to $195.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $185.00 to $195.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
9/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $188.00 to $195.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
9/19/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at TD Cowen. They now have a $150.00 price target on the stock.
9/19/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens. They now have a $159.00 price target on the stock.
9/13/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target lowered by analysts at Stephens from $165.00 to $159.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
9/12/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at TD Cowen. They now have a $150.00 price target on the stock.
9/10/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush. They now have a $170.00 price target on the stock.
9/10/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $192.00 to $191.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
8/20/2024 – Darden Restaurants had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Raymond James. They now have a $160.00 price target on the stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $172.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $151.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 30,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,986,000 after purchasing an additional 8,619 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $3,901,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 206.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,204,000 after buying an additional 33,066 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $838,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.