Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $200.50 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.62. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,787,992. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on DRI. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.63.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.