The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 58 cents per share.
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The company said that overall same-restaurant sales increased by 3.4 percent in the first quarter. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total value of $1,093,500.00. The company has a market cap of $5.06 billion and a P/E ratio of 61.98.
After the earnings announcement, the company’s shares rose in premarket trading.
Darden Restaurants shares have climbed 20 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has decreased 4.5 percent.
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Darden Restaurants, owners of the ubiquitous Italian food chain Olive Garden. The higher price target estimate for the stock has been calculated at $80 while the lower price target estimate is at $52. Zacks cut shares of Health Net from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th.
Shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) opened at 69.69 on Wednesday. The company’s strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, growth in earnings per share, compelling growth in net income, good cash flow from operations and solid stock price performance.
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In other news, SVP C Bradford Richmond sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 16th. The Insider information was disclosed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Form 4 filing. Also, Director Bruce G. Willison sold 4,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $377,270.80. The 50-day moving average is $70.42 and the 200 day moving average is recorded at $68.09. The company announced it was conducting a sale of its leasebacks for 64 of its restaurants and spinning off more than 424 restaurants into the REIT. The Companys restaurant brands include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie Vs and Yard House. Through subsidiaries, the Business owns and operates each of its own restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, except for three restaurants located in Florida and three restaurants in California, which are owned jointly from the Company and third parties, and managed by the Firm, seven franchised restaurants in Puerto Rico and one Atlanta, Georgia airport location.
