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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 9.450-9.520 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 9.480. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.1 billion-$12.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.1 billion. Darden Restaurants also updated its FY25 guidance to $9.45-$9.52 EPS.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock traded up $8.91 during trading on Monday, reaching $208.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,129,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,964. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.60 and its 200-day moving average is $177.21. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $210.31. The company has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.08.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.