Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Releases FY25 Earnings Guidance

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) issued an update on its FY25 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $9.40-9.60 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $9.48. Darden Restaurants also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 9.400-9.600 EPS.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $159.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.35.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen reissued a hold rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a hold rating to an underperform rating and cut their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $170.18.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.