Darden Restaurants (DRI) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) is set to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, September 21st. Analysts expect Darden Restaurants to post earnings of $1.72 per share for the quarter. Darden Restaurants has set its FY24 guidance at $8.55-8.85 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at $8.55-$8.85 EPS.Persons that wish to register for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 47.22%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Darden Restaurants to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $148.81 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $120.20 and a 52 week high of $173.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.24.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 10th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 7th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.50%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.75, for a total value of $2,302,984.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,700,682. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.75, for a total value of $2,302,984.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,700,682. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 31,818 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.29, for a total transaction of $5,100,107.22. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 199,856 shares in the company, valued at $32,034,918.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,775 shares of company stock worth $43,532,251 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,911,012,000 after purchasing an additional 362,658 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,380,814,000 after buying an additional 455,588 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,561,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $396,532,000 after buying an additional 54,085 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,643,084 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $254,941,000 after purchasing an additional 188,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,573,384 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $217,646,000 after purchasing an additional 532,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on DRI. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. VNET Group reiterated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $172.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Monday, June 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, July 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.22.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, through 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 brands.