Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Wedbush from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.28% from the company’s previous close. 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.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on DRI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE: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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.87 and a 200-day moving average of $157.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $188.88.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,040.80. This represents a 41.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 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.