Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants updated its FY25 guidance to $9.40-$9.60 EPS.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $154.29 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.69.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.57.

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.