Barclays Lowers Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $230.00

Key Points

• Barclays has lowered its price target for Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock, which implies a potential upside of 20.36% from its current price.
• Darden's stock was down 0.9% recently, with shares opening at $191.09, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $1.97 per share, below analyst estimates.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales; SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares and CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares, indicating notable decreases in their respective positions.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $255.00 to $230.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

DRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $7.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $184.83. 3,334,483 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,313,586. The company has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $206.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.14.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total transaction of $107,031.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,902 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.