Darden Restaurants' (DRI) Buy Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research reaffirmed its Buy rating on Darden Restaurants with a $235 price target, implying 13.62% upside; analysts overall rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a $232.52 consensus target.
• Darden’s fiscal Q1 2027 earnings matched expectations at $2.05 per share, while revenue rose 5.1% year over year to $3.20 billion but slightly missed estimates. Management reaffirmed full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10–$11.35.
• The stock opened at $206.83 after declining 3.2%, as higher food and labor costs pressured net income and Olive Garden’s same-store sales growth slowed to 1.1%, despite stronger performance from LongHorn Steakhouse.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by BTIG Research in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $235.00 price target on the restaurant operator's stock. BTIG Research's price target suggests a potential upside of 13.62% from the company's current price.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Stephens raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.52.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 3.2%

DRI opened at $206.83 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $229.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $212.01 and a 200-day moving average of $204.76. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan Connelly sold 2,226 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $867,028.05. This trade represents a 34.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,790,128,000 after buying an additional 322,079 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,015,109,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $651,813,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $537,001,000 after buying an additional 251,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,473 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $248,083,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Darden Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Darden reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of approximately $3.20 billion, up 5.1% year over year, while adjusted earnings of $2.05 per share were broadly in line with expectations. Same-restaurant sales rose 3.1% across the portfolio. Darden fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.35, close to the analyst consensus of $11.28, reducing the risk of a broader outlook reset. Darden also said Yard House plans to open 13 locations. Darden reaffirms fiscal 2027 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, or $6.48 annualized, representing a yield of about 3.1%. Shareholders also backed the existing board and governance structure at the annual meeting. Darden shareholder meeting results
• Neutral Sentiment: LongHorn Steakhouse remained a relative bright spot, posting 6.2% same-store sales growth, while management continues to benefit from sales growth across its restaurant segments.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell short of the roughly $3.21 billion consensus estimate, and higher food and labor costs pressured profits. Reported net income declined to about $233 million from $258 million a year earlier. Darden profit declines on higher expenses
• Negative Sentiment: Olive Garden’s same-store sales growth slowed to 1.1%, raising concerns about consumer traffic and the durability of growth at Darden’s flagship brand. The combination of the revenue miss, weaker Olive Garden momentum and margin pressure is driving the negative investor reaction despite the reaffirmed outlook. Darden stock falls as Olive Garden growth slows

About Darden Restaurants

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.