Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $254.00 at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its price target on Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) to $254.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.54% from its last closed price.
• Darden's quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $2.98 EPS and $3.27 billion in revenue, marking a 10.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company has approved a $1 billion stock repurchase plan, signifying confidence from its board regarding the stock's valuation.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Bank of America from $253.00 to $254.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential upside of 20.54% from the company's previous close.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.96.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $210.71. 184,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,277,368. The firm's 50-day moving average is $207.56 and its 200-day moving average is $206.09. The stock has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,645.76. This trade represents a 98.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.00, for a total value of $1,514,882.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,132,006. The trade was a 32.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,055,185 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,063,609,000 after acquiring an additional 284,814 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,916,944 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,071,746,000 after acquiring an additional 100,270 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,073,901 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $887,988,000 after acquiring an additional 75,701 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,134,246 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $680,418,000 after acquiring an additional 175,811 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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