Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $235.00 Price Target at Wedbush

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Wedbush from $220.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.55% from the company’s current price. Wedbush also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.60 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.93 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $199.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $192.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $203.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $772,635,000 after purchasing an additional 26,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $700,210,000 after buying an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.