Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Cut to $230.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has cut its price target for Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating, suggesting an upside of nearly 19% from the company's previous close.
• Following recent evaluations, Darden Restaurants has received a range of price targets from various analysts, with BMO Capital Markets lowering their target to $205.00 and Robert W. Baird reducing theirs to $208.00.
• Darden reported $1.97 EPS for the latest quarter, missing estimates and anticipating 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year, reflecting a 10.4% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.97% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.59.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI stock opened at $193.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $155.18 and a 52 week high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,816.95. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,013 shares of company stock valued at $412,738. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

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

About Darden Restaurants

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.

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