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

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) issued an update on its FY 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 11.100-11.350 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS 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.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $213.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $201.32 and a 200-day moving average of $200.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $222.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key 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 hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth $48,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.