Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’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 stock opened at $172.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.