Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Announces Quarterly 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 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly 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

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $172.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.69 and its 200 day moving average is $153.39. The company has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $159.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.18.

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.