Darden Restaurants stock has surged to new highs. If the owner of Olive Garden and Ruth’s Chris Steak House keeps executing well, shares could continue higher.

Last quarter wasn’t stellar: Darden’s total same-store sales rose 0.7%, less than the 1.7% increase projected by analysts, with growth of 0.6% at Olive Garden and 2.6% at Longhorn Steakhouse ...