Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants updated its FY 2027 guidance to 11.100-11.350 EPS.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.6%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $213.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $201.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $222.56. The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $237,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 29.7% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.