Street View: Darden's underlying trends strengthen as headwinds ease

By Reuters News

** Darden Restaurants DRI.N on Thursday maintained its annual forecasts after narrowly missing first-quarter estimates, hurt by weakness at Italian casual-dining chain Olive Garden

** Median PT of 30 brokerages covering the stock is $236, according to data compiled by LSEG


HEADWINDS EASE; TRAFFIC IMPROVES

** J.P. Morgan ("neutral", PT: $225) says Darden's sales trends improved through the quarter and into September, with management's cautious outlook leaving room for upside if momentum at Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse continues

** Jefferies ("hold", PT: $200) says improving demand trends, easing headwinds and strong value offerings at Olive Garden support confidence in co's outlook despite a challenging consumer backdrop

** TD Cowen ("hold", PT: $215) says weakness at Olive Garden was largely tied to temporary factors such as the World Cup and cyclospora-related concerns, while LongHorn's traffic-driven growth remains intact

** BTIG ("buy", PT: $235) says co continues to take market share by offering better value than competitors, with strength at its steakhouse chain and improving trends at its Italian chain supporting further gains

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