FY2025 Earnings Forecast for DRI Issued By Zacks Research

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Zacks Research reduced their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $9.46 per share 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.

DRI has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $192.28 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $196.47 and a 200 day moving average of $180.17. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,047 shares of company stock worth $11,947,346. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $772,635,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $700,210,000 after acquiring an additional 170,336 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $530,121,000 after purchasing an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.