Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Free Report) – Stock analysts at KeyCorp cut their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, September 21st. KeyCorp analyst E. Gonzalez now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $2.62 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.63. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $8.76 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.71 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $8.83 EPS.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 21st. The restaurant operator reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
NYSE:DRI opened at $143.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $120.20 and a 12-month high of $173.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.24.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 980.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.53% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Daniel J. Kiernan sold 12,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total transaction of $2,086,572.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,648,538.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Daniel J. Kiernan sold 12,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total transaction of $2,086,572.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,648,538.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 23,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.04, for a total value of $3,948,668.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 48,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,163,110.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 216,751 shares of company stock worth $36,468,911 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.
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.
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