Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Issues FY 2027 Earnings Guidance

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) issued an update on its FY 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 11.100-11.350 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 11.380. The company issued revenue guidance of $13.6 billion-$13.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.7 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.46.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $213.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.64. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $222.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Darden Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.66, topping expectations, and said comparable sales were better than expected, which supports the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company increased its quarterly dividend and authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in cash flow and giving investors more capital return potential. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target on Darden and kept a buy rating, which may be reinforcing investor optimism after earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The board approved bylaw changes aimed at improving shareholder participation, which is a governance update but not a major operating catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed Wall Street expectations, and commentary pointed to weaker same-store sales growth at Olive Garden and fine-dining locations, which may limit upside if traffic slows further. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management and analysts flagged margin pressure from beef inflation and continued investment spending, which could weigh on near-term profitability. Article Title

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,184 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Visionary Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 1,565 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.