FY2025 Earnings Estimate for DRI Issued By Zacks Research

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $9.46 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $9.49. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q1 2026 earnings at $1.88 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.09 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.31 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $3.19 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.38.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 2.1 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $188.31 on Monday. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $211.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $196.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total value of $474,418.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $4,271,642.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. The trade was a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.