Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) versus CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) Head-To-Head Comparison

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) and CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.6% of Darden Restaurants shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.2% of CAVA Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Darden Restaurants shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.1% of CAVA Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Darden Restaurants and CAVA Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Darden Restaurants	9.11%	49.46%	9.39%
CAVA Group	5.04%	7.37%	4.25%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Darden Restaurants and CAVA Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Darden Restaurants	1	6	17	0	2.67
CAVA Group	0	8	8	0	2.50

Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus price target of $179.25, suggesting a potential upside of 14.38%. CAVA Group has a consensus price target of $115.64, suggesting a potential downside of 13.46%. Given Darden Restaurants’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Darden Restaurants is more favorable than CAVA Group.

Volatility and Risk

Darden Restaurants has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CAVA Group has a beta of 3.33, indicating that its stock price is 233% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Darden Restaurants and CAVA Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Darden Restaurants	$11.39 billion	1.62	$1.03 billion	$8.67	18.08
CAVA Group	$728.70 million	20.96	$13.28 million	$0.37	361.16

Darden Restaurants has higher revenue and earnings than CAVA Group. Darden Restaurants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CAVA Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Darden Restaurants beats CAVA Group on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Darden Restaurants, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Orlando, Florida.

About CAVA Group

CAVA Group, Inc. owns and operates a chain of restaurants under the CAVA brand in the United States. The company also offers dips, spreads, and dressings through grocery stores. In addition, the company provides online and mobile ordering platforms. Cava Group, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.