Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for DRI Earnings

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2027 earnings estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $2.08 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.10. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ FY2027 earnings at $11.35 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $3.51 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.26 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.24.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $4.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $191.90. 409,504 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,744. The company has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $253,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 84.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,438,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.3% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,232 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,538,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total transaction of $1,471,173.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.