Free Trial

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Receives Buy (B) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Darden Restaurants logo with Retail/Wholesale background

Key Points

  • Darden Restaurants' stock has received a buy rating from Weiss Ratings, reflecting confidence in the company's outlook among analysts.
  • Despite the positive rating, other firms have downgraded Darden's stock, with Barclays setting a new price target of $230 and Wall Street Zen shifting from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.
  • Darden announced a $1 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
  • MarketBeat previews the top five stocks to own by November 1st.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen cut Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 18th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.59.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on DRI

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $3.54 on Wednesday, hitting $188.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,141,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,178. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.95. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $155.18 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The business'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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,507,575 in the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the first 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 grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.4% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 124.2% during the first 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Darden Restaurants Right Now?

Before you consider Darden Restaurants, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Darden Restaurants wasn't on the list.

While Darden Restaurants currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

5G Stocks: The Path Forward is Profitable Cover

Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's guide to investing in 5G and which 5G stocks show the most promise.

Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.