Darden shares at an ‘attractive’ entry point, says Stifel

Stifel analyst Chris O’Cull reiterated a Buy rating and $230 price target on Darden (DRI) after the company reported Q2 earnings per share that fell “just short” of Wall Street estimates, primarily due to restaurant margin compression from elevated beef costs. While cyclical commodity inflation weighed on earnings, the firm was encouraged by the portfolio’s continued strong SRS momentum, a trend it believes remains sustainable through 2H26. Overall, Stifel believes investors should capitalize on strong sales momentum when earnings are temporarily suppressed by peak input cost pressures that are likely to be mean-revert, making this an attractive entry point for the shares.