Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 9.400-9.600 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 9.500. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.8 billion-$11.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.8 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DRI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Darden Restaurants from a hold rating to an underperform rating and decreased their target price for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Argus decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock opened at $159.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $149.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.