Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at Wedbush decreased their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research note issued to investors on Friday, June 23rd. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $1.77 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.85. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $8.74 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q3 2024 earnings at $2.59 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.64 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.90 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.90 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.64 EPS.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $2.58 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
NYSE:DRI opened at $161.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.51. Darden Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $111.38 and a fifty-two week high of $168.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.66.
Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.50%.
Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants
In related news, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 78,916 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $12,147,539.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 199,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,763,834.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Chairman Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 78,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $12,147,539.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 199,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,763,834.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 12,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $1,974,179.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,488,086.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $323,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,245 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,795,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.75% of the company’s stock.
Darden Restaurants Company Profile
Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.
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