Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has reduced its price target for Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) from $225.00 to $200.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which suggests a potential upside of 3.81% from the current price.
• Despite Wells Fargo's downgrade, other analysts such as Barclays and Morgan Stanley have increased their price targets for Darden Restaurants to as high as $255.00, reflecting varying outlooks within the analyst community.
• Darden Restaurants is also implementing a $1.00 billion stock repurchase program, which signals confidence from the board regarding the company's valuation.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.81% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on DRI. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.11.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 7.7%

DRI stock opened at $192.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $155.18 and a twelve month high of $228.27. The company's 50 day moving average is $206.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.12.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% in 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 buying an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 46.0% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. 93.64% of the stock is currently 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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