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 earnings per share (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 Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:DRI opened at $210.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $201.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $222.56.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,486,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,613,781 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $771,020,000 after purchasing an additional 68,245 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,884,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $346,756,000 after acquiring an additional 563,237 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,481,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $272,639,000 after purchasing an additional 93,694 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,231,508 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $226,629,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is 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.