Darden Restaurants (DRI) PT Raised to $215 at Stifel

Stifel analyst Chris O\'Cull raised the price target on Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) to $215.00 (from $205.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.

The analyst commented, “Darden reported in line F3Q earnings of $2.80 despite softer-than expected comps at Olive Garden and LongHorn, with lower G&A and marketing expenses largely offsetting the lower revenue relative to our projections. Despite recent indications that broader consumer sentiment is souring, the company has not seen any broad changes in consumer dining behavior, with solid QTD comp trends suggesting at least 3% consolidated SRS in F4Q. We were also encouraged by the continued progress of the Uber Direct rollout at Olive Garden, and we believe the addition of the delivery service in brands where it's a good fit can drive significant comp benefits for the next several quarters. We maintained our F4Q EPS estimate of $2.88 as our higher SRS projection was offset by the impact of higher overall inflation in F4Q. However, we raised our FY26 EPS estimate to $10.45, which reflects a more cautious consumer backdrop.”

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