BMO Capital Markets Cuts Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $205.00

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has lowered its price target for Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating.
• Despite the price target cut, other firms like Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim raised their targets, indicating a mixed sentiment among analysts.
• Darden Restaurants' stock is currently down 3.2%, trading at $186.66, with recent quarterly earnings showing a slight miss against analyst estimates.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $215.00 to $205.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

DRI has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $7.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $184.83. The stock had a trading volume of 3,334,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,586. The company has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $206.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.24. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total value of $1,059,598.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total transaction of $1,514,882.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,132,006. This trade represents a 32.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock worth $10,022,232 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,099,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the second quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.