Darden Restaurants (DRI) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) is scheduled to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, September 19th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.84 per share for the quarter. Darden Restaurants has set its FY25 guidance at $9.40-$9.60 EPS.Investors that are interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Darden Restaurants to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $160.14 on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.41.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’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 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 approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.