Wedbush Raises Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $220.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective hoisted by Wedbush from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q4 2025 earnings at $2.99 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.28 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.03 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $3.32 EPS.

Several other research firms have also commented on DRI. KeyCorp raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of DRI opened at $187.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $166.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.30. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $188.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $334,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,602,433.26. The trade was a 11.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,320 shares of company stock valued at $1,366,948 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.