Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Releases Earnings Results

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08), Briefing.com reports. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants updated its FY 2025 guidance to 9.400-9.600 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $9.40-9.60 EPS.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded down $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $170.17. 2,870,952 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,237,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.49. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.