Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Issues Earnings Results

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $213.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $201.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.64. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $222.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39.

More Darden Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.66, topping expectations, and said comparable sales were better than expected, which supports the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company increased its quarterly dividend and authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in cash flow and giving investors more capital return potential. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target on Darden and kept a buy rating, which may be reinforcing investor optimism after earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The board approved bylaw changes aimed at improving shareholder participation, which is a governance update but not a major operating catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed Wall Street expectations, and commentary pointed to weaker same-store sales growth at Olive Garden and fine-dining locations, which may limit upside if traffic slows further. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management and analysts flagged margin pressure from beef inflation and continued investment spending, which could weigh on near-term profitability. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,486,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $771,020,000 after purchasing an additional 68,245 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,884,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $346,756,000 after buying an additional 563,237 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,481,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $272,639,000 after buying an additional 93,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,231,508 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $226,629,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.46.

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.