Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Darden Restaurants has been upgraded from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating by The Goldman Sachs Group, with a price target of $225.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.58% from its current price.
• Despite recently reporting $1.97 EPS for the quarter, Darden missed analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.04, but revenue increased by 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with 20 rating it as a Buy and 9 as a Hold, reflecting positive investor sentiment.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $225.00 price target on the restaurant operator's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target points to a potential upside of 19.58% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on DRI. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.15.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $188.16 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $157.89 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.90.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $1,438,707. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,471 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $331,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,489 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 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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