Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 10.500-10.700 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 10.750. The company issued revenue guidance of -, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.1 billion.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $222.75 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $207.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $235.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.06. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.68% and a net margin of 8.96%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.35.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,121,492 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% 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.