Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Issues Earnings Results

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08), Briefing.com reports. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.52. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DRI. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.28.

About Darden Restaurants

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.