KeyCorp Lowers Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $240.00

Key Points

• KeyCorp has reduced its price target for Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $240.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, indicating a potential upside of 12.68% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite the downgrade, Darden has seen a positive earnings report with $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates and showing a 10.6% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a $1.00 billion share repurchase plan, further indicating management's confidence in the stock's valuation amidst recent insider selling by senior executives.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by KeyCorp from $245.00 to $240.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. KeyCorp's target price indicates a potential upside of 12.68% from the stock's previous close.

DRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.81.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $213.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.71. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $153.98 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company's 50 day moving average price is $208.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.58.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,645.76. The trade was a 98.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,949 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,132,006. This represents a 32.60% 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 three months. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,987,000 after purchasing an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 820.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $153,977,000 after acquiring an additional 629,669 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $417,935,000 after purchasing an additional 596,863 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $191,980,000 after purchasing an additional 579,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $125,521,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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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