Q2 2025 Earnings Forecast for Darden Restaurants, Inc. Issued By Zacks Research (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for Darden Restaurants in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 3rd. Zacks Research analyst M. Kaushik now forecasts that the restaurant operator will earn $1.99 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.96. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $9.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.80 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.86 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.40 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.00 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.31 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.25 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.99 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.15 EPS.

DRI has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI raised Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $159.13 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.66.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,706 shares of company stock worth $12,813,038. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after buying an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% 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.