Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Cut to $230.00 by Analysts at Barclays

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 price objective trimmed by Barclays from $255.00 to $230.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Melius started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.96.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

DRI traded down $7.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $184.83. The company had a trading volume of 3,334,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,895. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $206.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.14. The company has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27.

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

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,132,006. This represents a 32.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.