Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) reports quarterly earnings results, beating expectations by $0.04 EPS

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.65 for the quarter, $0.04 above the consensus estimate of $2.61, Briefing.com reports. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was $3 billion, compared to analyst expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company saw an EPS of $2.58. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased 8.3% year-over-year. Darden Restaurants updated its FY25 guidance to $9.40-$9.60 EPS.

Darden Restaurant Price Results

On Friday, DRI opened at $153.28. The company has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.69 and a 200-day moving average of $159.64. The company has a debt to equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Darden Restaurants is cutting its dividend

Recently, the company also declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1. Investors of record will receive a dividend of $1.29 per share on Wednesday, July 10. The dividend payment date is Wednesday, July 10. This represents a dividend of $5.16 on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Darden Restaurants’ dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.50%.

Darden Restaurants said its board of directors approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21, which authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion of stock. This buyout authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to acquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs typically indicate that a company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders place their bets

In related news, whistleblower Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52 for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed via this hyperlink. In related news, whistleblower Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction amount of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, available at this link. Additionally, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,717.01. The announcement of this sale can be found here. During the last quarter, insiders sold a total of 13,599 shares of company stock worth $2,197,891. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s shares.

Analysts set new price targets

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley affirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday. Wedbush maintained an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants on Friday, March 22. Barclays lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14. Ultimately, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on Darden Restaurants stock in a report on Thursday. Five analysts rated the company’s shares with a hold rating, and sixteen of them issued a buy rating. The company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.76, according to MarketBeat.com.

See our latest report on Darden restaurants

About Darden Restaurants

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Darden Restaurants, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under the brands 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.

Darden Restaurant Price Results

Darden Restaurants is cutting its dividend

Insiders place their bets

Analysts set new price targets

About Darden Restaurants

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