Darden Restaurants (DRI) Buy, Sell or Hold

Home

Daily Stock Opinions and Ratings

Darden Restaurants (DRI)

209.89

+2.36 (1.14%)

as of Sep 11, 2026, 8:00:00 pm Market Open.

39 watching

Investor Insights

Sep 14, 2026, 12:00 am

This summary was created by AI, based on 2 opinions in the last 12 months.

Darden Restaurants (DRI) is facing a complex market environment, particularly influenced by rising gas prices due to geopolitical tensions, which may deter dining out temporarily. Although the company reported a 4.7% increase in same-store sales that exceeded expectations, its earnings fell short as inflation pressures, especially high meat prices, squeezed profit margins. Despite these challenges, management raised their full-year forecast while maintaining earnings guidance, indicating confidence in their strategy. Darden has managed to attract customers by keeping prices below inflation rates while partnering with Uber Direct to enhance delivery options, specifically targeting a younger, affluent demographic. While food inflation poses challenges, experts believe this situation to be temporary, reiterating that Darden is taking the right steps to navigate the current landscape.

Consensus

Positive

Valuation

Fair Value

Similar

CMG

BUY

It reports Thursday. It's had a good run and he expects good numbers, given the scarcity value of this stock and the Last Man Standing thesis during the upheaval that all restos have faced during Covid.

COMMENT

Trade this medium-term as a reopening play, but after that is downside: food and labour costs will rise and there will be a labour shortage. As the economy reopens, people will dine-in and not take-out as they did during Covid.

BUY

Last summer, Bogota Chow steakhouse sold 1,300 steaks a week way past their normal 500 after the first stimulus cheques were issued. Darden controls costs well and have a good, diverse range of brands. The valuation makes sense.

COMMENT

New York will soon ban indoor dining and he expects the rest of the country to follow, which will impact Darden. But long term it will survive. He expects good guidance when they report next week, but the stock has run up lately.

BUY

The parent company of Olive Garden and other restaurants. Restos in general have been ground zero for Covid. DRI has thrived because they've put tables outside and invested heavily in safety. They've cut their dividend. They've returned to this year's high. DRI limited dine-in service to 50% (dine-in still happens in the U.S. despite the pandemic). A year from now, this stock will hit the moon.

COMMENT

It keeps getting analyst upgrades, because sadly mom and pop restaurants closing during this pandemic.

BUY

Owns The Olive Garden. Was up another 5% today, a miraculous rise in recent weeks. Many customers keep buying take-out, and the company has deep enough pockets to ride out the pandemic. Strong in the restaurant space.

COMMENT

The quick serve trendy kind of restaurants is really where the consumer money has been flowing, so investor money has been flowing there. This company has done some work in righting the ship. There is some opportunity here, but getting the format right will be important.

COMMENT

Has grown nicely over the past 10 years. One of the problems is that the company has gone from a deep discount to its FMV of $72. At this juncture, it doesn’t look like there is an awful lot left in the short term, and all you are going to get is the dividend. You will be lucky if the price holds here.

COMMENT

Have some good brands, including Olive Gardens. Shorter-term, there will be issues on the US consumer. Overall, a reasonable company and one worth looking at.

TOP PICK

Good brand name restaurants. Over the last several months had negative same-store sales as well as disappointing earnings but this has turned around. Technically has a nice support around $18/19.

PAST TOP PICK

(Was a top pick on Sept 20. Down 11.6%.) Still likes. It has been oversold.

TOP PICK

15% earning growth. Good management.

PAST TOP PICK

(Was a top pick on Apr 30. Up 88%) Still likes.

TOP PICK

Good brand recognition. Tremendous free cash flow generation. Excellent balance sheet.

Showing 31 to 45 of 45 entries

Most Recent Experts

Jenny Harrington, CEO, Gilman Hill Asset Management

Gilman Hill Asset Management

Jim Lebenthal

Cerity Partners

Shannon Saccocia, CIO, Boston Private

Boston Private

Kevin Simpson

Capital Wealth Planning

Greg Newman

Scotia Wealth Management

Stockchase, in its reporting on what has been discussed by individuals on business television programs (in particular Business News Network), neither recommends nor promotes any investment strategies.

We paraphrase the experts by hand, we watch the shows and write down what we understood from the experts’ comments. We are human and can make mistakes, help us fix any errors. If you see something that you know is not right or if there is a problem with the site, feel free to email us at : [email protected].

Darden Restaurants (DRI)