Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Darden Restaurants from $236 to $255 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 19% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 18 Buy ratings and nine Holds, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $231.58.
• Darden reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, slightly above expectations, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. Shares recently traded at $214.25, and institutional investors own 93.64% of the stock.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $236.00 to $255.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 19.02% from the stock's previous close.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.58.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $4.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $214.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 115,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,193. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $229.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $210.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Williamson sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total transaction of $90,766.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. This trade represents a 7.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 70,185 shares of company stock valued at $14,636,984 in the last quarter. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 25,118.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 35,137,478 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,238,672,000 after purchasing an additional 34,998,143 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,015,109,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,486,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $651,813,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $204,099,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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